Five Years Changed
by WoNdY Alice
Summary: During a mission, the Teen Titans are taken five years into the past. They run into a team of young superheroes and are shocked when they see a younger, happier Robin. With constant fights between Batman and the older Robin, multiple team conflicts, Robin's secret identity, and a brewing romance between Robin and Raven, the Titans are unsure if they'll ever get home. RobRae.
1. Time Warp

Alice: New Teen Titans story!

Emily: Okay, I know this one didn't technically win the poll, but I was so excited to write it, so I figured I'd write this along with the story that won the poll.

Alice: The story that won the poll will be most likely published tomorrow because I'm still planning it out.

Emily: In the meantime, here's another Teen Titans story! With a slight crossover to Young Justice although there won't be much focus on the Young Justice characters.

Alice: Enjoy! This story will be more Robin-centric while the other RobRae story I'm posing will be more Raven-centric.

Emily: Enjoy!

* * *

Title: Five Years Changed

Summary: During a mission, the Teen Titans are taken five years into the past. They run into a team of young superheroes and are shocked when they see a younger, happier Robin on the team. With constant fights between Batman and the older Robin, multiple team conflicts, Robin's secret identity, and a brewing romance between Robin and Raven, the Titans are unsure if they'll ever get home.

Pairings: RobRae. One-sided RobStar.

* * *

 **Time Warp**

It started out as a normal day. Then again, anything crazy that happened with the Titans started out on a normal day. Like usual, Cyborg and Beast boy were playing video games, Raven was reading in the corner, and Starfire was flirting with Robin. Well, flirting was a broad term. She most likely didn't realize her actions were flirtatious, but to anyone on the team, it came across that way. "They're flirting again," Cyborg whispered to Beast boy, who snickered in response.

"When are they going to seal the deal?" Beast boy wiggled his eyebrows. "They've been dancing around it for so long! Maybe we should give them a push?"

"They'll figure it out soon enough. We just have to be patient."

"Beast boy? Patient? Does he even know what that word means?"

Both boys turned to Raven, who was sitting on the other side of the couch. She didn't even take her eyes off of the book when she made that statement. Beast boy flushed and stuck his tongue out at her. "Raven!" he pouted. "I know what patient means! And I can be patient!"

"You? Patient? Do you even know what that means?"

The three teammates turned to Robin, who was smirking at them. Raven attempted to hide a smile while Beast boy whined about how everyone was against them. Robin merely chuckled and gave Raven an amused glance. Trying not to blush, Raven rolled her eyes and went back to the book. "What happened with Beast boy?" Starfire asked curiously.

Robin chuckled. "I have no idea. Anyway, what were you saying?"

Starfire continued happily chatting away as Robin listened closely.

The rest of the day continued along those lines until the alarm went off. Immediately the Titans jumped up and rushed to the computer. On the screen was the description of the problem and Robin glared at it. "Warp," he stated in a serious manner. "We'll need to be careful with him. If he opens a portal, don't go into it!"

As if on queue, the Titans turned to Starfire, who blushed at the direct command. None of the team members forgot the story she told of how she travelled to the future and saw how their friendships ended. "I will not," she answered carefully.

Robin nodded at her and turned to the rest of the team. "Alright Titans. Move out!"

* * *

They arrived at the museum in minutes. Instantly they prepared for the time travelling villain, but no one was in the room. Robin frowned and looked around the room for anything that would give the criminal away. Cyborg frowned, "Um guys… was this a false alarm?"

"Looks like it," Beast boy sighed, relaxing his body from his previous stance.

"Don't relax," Robin barked at him, and Beast boy tensed up. "This could be a trap. Search the room!"

"Come on man! No one's here," Cyborg whined, but he quieted down when Robin turned to glare at him. Sighing, Cyborg started scanning the room with his right arm to detect any movement or heat waves. Starfire flew up and searched from the air with Raven as Beast boy turned into a mouse. So far, nothing was found.

"Robin," Starfire said as she lowered herself to the ground. "I do not believe anyone is here."

Robin narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything to agree or disagree with Starfire. Instead he slowly walked around the room as if Warp would spring out of nowhere. "I don't like this," Robin mumbled.

"I don't sense anyone," Raven commented.

"He's from the future. His technology is advanced, so he could hide himself." Robin stated.

The team inwardly sighed but didn't say anything. Secretly, they hated it when he behaved overcautious or too obsessed with solving the crime. He was far too serious for his own good, and it resulted in multiple problems in the past. The immediate criminal that came to mind was Slade, who Robin obsessed over to the point where it was unhealthy. "I wonder if he got all this seriousness from Batman," Beast boy whispered to Cyborg, who instantly shushed him.

"Dude!" Cyborg warned. "Don't talk about the big Bats in front of Robin! He's tense enough as it is!"

"Oh right… sorry."

Raven rolled her eyes and moved past them, walking right behind Robin, who was still tense. "Robin," she stated. "What is it?"

"They specifically said Warp was here," he mumbled under his breath, turning to her. "Why would they say that unless they saw him? Something's wrong. Can't you feel it?"

Raven shook her head. "I can't feel anyone else here besides us," she admitted, "but you're right. His technology is advanced and could undermine my powers. Still if this was a trap, wouldn't he have done something by now? We've been standing here for a while."

Robin opened his mouth to argue but then shut it. He sighed, "I'm being crazy again, aren't I?"

Raven smiled slightly. "Just a bit," she teased. "Come on, let's go—"

"TITANS!"

All of the Titans whipped around to see Warp standing there with a bright grin. It appeared as though he came from out of nowhere. "Warp," Robin narrowed his eyes.

"Robin," Warp laughed in reply. "You know, you Titans have been causing us criminals trouble: thwarting our plans, sending us to jail, and worse! I've decided I'm going to get rid of you all!"

"Get rid of us?" Robin smirked in amusement. "Go ahead then."

Warp maniacally laughed. "Oh no Robin! I couldn't possibly fight you all… so I decided to do something else. It took time, but I finally figured out what to do with you all. Say goodbye, Titans, because you're never going to see your precious city ever again!"

Before the Titans could even move, a large portal opened beneath their feet. As if hands were pulling their ankles down, they slowly started sinking into the portal. Starfire and Raven attempted to fly away, but it was too late. Darkness closed in around them and strange clocks appeared out of nowhere. Ticking noises filled the air, but only for a few seconds.

Suddenly they were dumped onto the ground, piling on top of each other. Groaning in pain, the Titans slowly dissembled themselves and glanced around. "Um… Rob…" Cyborg sheepishly said, "I think we accidentally fell into one of his portals."

Judging by the glare Cyborg received, this was not a good time to joke with Robin.

"Friends…" Starfire whispered. "Where are we?"

The Titans frowned and began taking in their surroundings. Instead of an art museum, they seemed to be in an abandoned factory. Normally they recognized any suspicious looking building since most crimes took place in them, but this one was foreign to them. "Guys," Raven hissed, "there are people coming."

The warning didn't give them enough time. Suddenly multiple men in strange uniforms burst into the room and ran straight for the Titans. Robin narrowed his eyes, "Titans!" He shouted. "Go!"

They broke into their usual fighting strategy. Starfire and Raven flew up while Cyborg and Robin stayed on the ground with Beast boy as backup. Soon they started slowly beating the men in strange uniforms. It was rather easy considering they were all human. The strange part was Robin felt as though he recognized the uniforms they were wearing, and in the back of his mind, he tried to identify it. If they were in the future, how could he know what they were wearing?

"There's someone else there!"

A new voice came in, and Cyborg frowned. Out of nowhere, a group of teenagers sprang from the ceiling into the middle of the fight scene. Beast boy quickly morphed back into his human form and blinked at Cyborg. "Um… are they on our side?"

A quick blur of yellow and red started taking out the soldiers, swiftly knocking them out. "Our side!" Cyborg answered, blasting some of the men away.

Starfire quickly flew down and hurled starbolts at the men. As she was aiming for them, another body slammed into hers. Flying back, Starfire blinked and rubbed her head. Raven never ran into her! They fought with each other often enough to know when to avoid each other in flight! She was about to ask Raven what happened but closed her mouth when she realized it wasn't Raven! A green alien was blinking at her. Like Starfire, she had long red hair, although the other girl's was a little browner.

The alien gasped, "Who—"

The alien ceased talking, and it appeared as though she was lost in her thoughts. Without saying another word, she flew off, leaving Starfire to just gape at the space where she once was. What had just happened? Who was that?

Cyborg quickly dashed over to Robin, who was fighting the uniformed men. "Robin!" he shouted, and the leader of the team turned to him. "There's another team of superheroes!"

Robin frowned, his eyes focused on Cyborg even as he was fighting the men. "That's impossible! There's no other—"

A cackle filled the room, and Robin froze up. The rest of the titans noticed the cackle and frowned. It was a sound filled with such amusement and _innocence_ that it seemed out of place in the battle. Robin clenched his fists and whirled around, punching one of the men coming behind him. "I think I know where we are," he gritted out.

Cyborg frowned. "You do?"

"Warp didn't send us to the future. He sent us to the past." As he said that, the last man fell onto the floor. Since the fighting stopped, each team immediately went to their side, so the two teams were facing each other. Raven blinked in surprise at the teenage team standing across from them.

The man standing in front was clearly the leader. He was one of the older members. He had darker skin and black tattoos running down his arms. His hair was in a buzz cut, and it was pure white. Judging by the gills on his neck, he was not from the land. Behind him stood a green alien with reddish brown hair and wide brown eyes. A blonde girl in green was next to the alien, and she had a bow in her hands. A boy who looked like a younger version of Superman (he was even wearing a Superman t-shirt) stood on the other side of the alien girl and was glaring at the team. Another boy in yellow and red was there as well, and he was blinking at the team in obvious confusion.

"Who are all of you?" the leader asked.

Robin spoke, "You won't believe us if we told you."

The leader looked at Robin up and down, and his eyes landed on the "R" on his chest. "Are you some sort of copy cat?"

Before Robin could speak, Beast boy exclaimed, "Copy cat? Dude, this is the real Robin!"

"Well that doesn't seem probable."

The team, except for Robin, gasped and whirled around. The youngest member of the team stood behind them with a smirk on his face. His dark hair was spread over his forehead, and his uniform was red and yellow with black gloves. Cackling, the boy walked over to the other team and stood beside the leader. "Wait…" Beast boy blinked. "You're…?"

"Robin," he cheekily grinned.

The team, except for Robin and Cyborg, glanced from the older Robin to the younger Robin in confusion before understanding dawned on them. They were in the past, not the future!

Or, more specifically, they were in Robin's past.

* * *

Alice: Thanks for reading!

Emily: What did you think?

Alice: Should I continue it?

Emily: A lot more RobRae will come into later chapters!

Alice: This story also focuses a lot on Batman and Robin's relationship.

Emily: Anyways, thanks for reading!


	2. Of Two Teams

Alice: So a lot of you had questions about this story, so I figured I'd answer them up here!

 **1\. How will you write out the difference between Teen Titan's Robin and Young Justice's Robin?**

For the majority of this chapter, I'll just make it exceedingly obvious who I'm referring to. Towards the end of this chapter, the two teams will decide that the two Robin's should be called different names to avoid confusion. Don't worry though! I'm going to make the name thing as simple as possible, and I'll try my best to avoid any confusion. If, at any point, you don't know which Robin I'm talking about, tell me in a review, and I'll fix it!

 **2\. Why isn't this a crossover between Teen Titans and Young Justice?**

I considered making it a crossover, but the Teen Titans will be heavily focused on while the majority of the Young Justice characters will be in the background. The only two characters from Young Justice who will be really fleshed out will be Robin and Batman. Other than them, Young Justice is more background than anything. I figured that'd be a bit unfair to make it a crossover and have Young Justice fans think it would be about their characters when it's mostly Teen Titans. That's why it's a Teen Titans fic over a crossover.

Emily: Now that you're questions are answered, here's the next chapter!

Alice: Thanks for all the support and reviews, by the way!

* * *

 **Of Two Teams**

Robin's past… There were so many underlying questions that could be answered here. Out of all the team member's, Robin's past was the most well known. With the other teammates, there were only small details they knew about their lives before they joined the Teen Titans. With Robin, they practically knew everything. At a young age, he became Batman's sidekick, and he fought side by side with one of the most well known heroes in history. After something happened with Batman, Robin decided to go rogue. He left Gotham City, and he travelled to Jump, where he accidentally formed the Teen Titans.

Yet, somehow, his past also had the most questions. What happened between him and Batman that caused him to refuse to talk about him? What did he look like under the mask? Why was he so serious all the time when the stories implied he was a jokester? Who was he when he wasn't wearing the mask?

"I'll ask again," the leader of the other team spoke, interrupting the Titan's thoughts. "Who are you?"

The older Robin took in a deep breath. "We're from the future," he deadpanned. The other team blinked at his answer. He said it with such a serious expression yet the actual words were so goofy. Was he joking, or was he serious?

"You're joking," the younger Robin snorted.

Robin shifted his gaze to stare at his younger self. The boy had a cocky smirk on his lips, and his hands were crossed over his chest. If Robin were to remove the boy's mask, he would see blue eyes filled with light and joy. Part of Robin admired that about his younger self, but he also knew what was to come. In that way, he pitied the younger Robin.

"I'm not," the Titan's leader replied. "I'm you from the future."

Robin tilted his head to the side. "You look like me but you don't act like me at all."

"A lot can change in five years."

"Five?"

"I'm pretty sure you're thirteen right now. Am I right?"

The younger Robin frowned, glancing at the team leader, before nodding his head. "Yeah, but just because you can guess my age doesn't mean—"

"Nu înseamnă ceea ce puțin pasăre?"

Except for Starfire, the Teen Titans gaped at the words coming out of their leader's mouth. Beast boy blinked, about to ask Robin what he said, but a quick elbow jab from Cyborg silenced him. Robin's masked eyes were focused on his younger self, and he clearly did not want to be interrupted.

The other team was staring at their leader in confusion except for the younger Robin, who's lips parted in surprise. The leader of that team turned to Robin, and strangely enough the younger Robin nodded without having to look at him. How could the team communicate that well?

The younger Robin took a step forward. "Puteți vorbi romani?"

"Eu pot. Mi-ar fi atent ce spui, puțin pasăre. Coechipierul meu Starfire poate vorbi la fel de bine." Robin suddenly jerked his head towards Starfire, who flushed at the statement. Both teams just blinked in confusion, and the younger Robin's eyes drifted to the alien girl.

"I learn languages by kissing someone," she mumbled, embarrassed. "In order to learn English, I kissed Robin. As a result, I learned many other languages, and Romani was one of them. I believe it is your mother tongue, yes?"

The younger Robin slowly nodded, and he frowned at the older Robin. "She doesn't know who you are then?"

"None of them do." He replied without exposing any emotion to how he felt about that. "Much like your team."

The younger Robin bit the inside of his cheek. "How do you know that?"

"How do you think? I'm not lying to you, Robin. If you talked to me in private, I can tell you everything that's happened in your life, and I can tell you everything you've ever felt. I know these things because I've lived through them and felt them too." His voice was both stern yet calming at the same time. It was like a parent trying to talk to their child about a serious manner. The parent needed their child to take them seriously, but they didn't want to scare the child away either.

"You don't know everything," another kid on the team stated. He was wearing red and yellow, and there were a pair of goggles resting on his forehead.

The older Robin smirked. "Don't I, Wally?"

The other team froze. Wally's jaw dropped, and he sputtered, "H-how…?"

"It's only fair considering you know my name."

The blonde archer gasped. "You do?" She exclaimed, turning to the redheaded boy, who was staring at Robin with wide eyes.

The leader of the Teen Titan's smirked, facing the younger Robin, "Crede-mă acum, puțin pasăre?"

* * *

After convincing the other team they were from the future, the leader decided he would bring the Teen Titans to Mount Justice where they would figure out what to do. Both teams went into a large red ship (apparently called the Bio-ship), and from then on, there was silence. While the other team was piloting the Bio-ship, the Teen Titans were sitting on the ground away from the other team.

"Is this where you got the inspiration for our ship?" Cyborg asked when they all sat in a circle on the floor. From the moment the alien girl revealed the ship, Cyborg instantly compared it to the ship they had at home. While the shape was a little different, there were still enough similarities to make the comparison.

Robin winced but nodded, "Yeah."

Raven, who was sitting on Robin's left, frowned. "It feels different… not like a machine."

"It's not. I'm not exactly sure what the Bio-ship is, but it's not mechanical like ours. It's why there had to be some modifications in the construction of our ship," Robin explained.

Beast boy rolled his eyes and exclaimed, "Dudes, we're in the past! Robin's past! There's a tiny Robin running around, and you guys are talking about the inspiration for our ship!"

The team frowned at Beast boy's bluntness, but to be fair, it was on all of their minds. Cyborg sighed and glanced at Robin, who was sitting across from him. What would their leader be willing to tell them about the time period they're in? What wouldn't he tell them? Would they be able to make it out of here?

"I guess we should talk about the elephant in the room," Robin awkwardly stated.

"You were on a team before us?" Starfire asked, tilting her head to the side. "I thought we were the first team of younger heroes?"

"Technically we are," Robin stated. "The team right now is under Justice League supervision. We're the first independent team of younger heroes, which makes us the first. This team is technically covert, so they're not well known either."

The team nodded in return, and Beast boy suddenly gasped. "Does this mean we'll meet the Justice League?"

With that statement, Robin froze. His hands, covered by his green gloves, slowly clenched into fists, and his expression hardened. The rest of the titans gulped. "I guess so," he said through gritted teeth.

There was a moment of silence before Cyborg suddenly shot up, "I want to see what this ship is made of… you know? Just so we can improve the ship at home. Starfire, you're an alien, right? You may know some of this stuff!"

Taking the hint, Starfire forced a smile. "Yes, friend Cyborg! I shall be able to help you out!"

"Alien tech?" Beast boy forced a smile, standing up with the team. "Count me in!"

The team basically ran away from their seething leader, who was trying to take deep breaths to calm down. Raven, who was sitting next to him, slowly started standing up, sensing that he needed to be alone right now. To her surprise though, Robin said, "They're not that subtle."

Raven raised her eyebrows in surprise and started to slowly lower her body back onto the ground. "They don't like seeing you upset."

Robin nodded. "I know."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. It was a nervous habit he developed, and Raven took immediate notice of it. "I just… it's weird seeing myself like that."

Raven nodded in understanding. "You have changed."

"I have," Robin chuckled although there was no amusement behind it. "I know what's going to happen to him, and I feel bad… and jealous."

"Jealous?"

"Ignorance is bliss," he smiled ruefully. "But if he's thirteen, then he's going to figure it out soon enough."

Raven furrowed her eyebrows. "Figure out what?"

Instead of smiling, Robin just gave her a strange smile. She didn't bother pressing him because she knew he would only back away. Sighing, she just scooted closer to him and stayed beside him. The rest of the trip was silent for the two of them, who just remained in each other's presence. That seemed to be enough for them.

While the other Teen Titans took no notice of the moment between their teammates, one boy in particular did.

* * *

When they arrived at Mount Justice, there was an immediate problem with the computers. Due to four unidentified members walking in, a lockdown was almost in place. Luckily, and strangely, the younger Robin quickly hacked into the system and allowed the four superheroes to walk in. The next problem was that the computer recognized Robin twice, and the younger Robin once again had to hack the system to make a separate file for the older Robin by using his height and weight along with DNA.

It was very confusing for the Teen Titans, as they were not used to Robin being the computer expert. In fact, they had no idea that Robin even was a computer expert in the first place!

Cyborg's jaw dropped as he stared at the thirteen-year-old boy. "How did you do that?" He asked. "What are those things on your arms?"

He mischievously grinned, holding up his gloved hands. Unlike the older Robin, his gloves were black, tight, and bulky. Cyborg could tell there was some type of tech on the gloves, but he couldn't tell what it was or what it did. "Cool, right? I helped design them!"

"You…" Cyborg blinked before turning around to his leader. "You're good with computers?"

Robin sighed just as the younger Robin smirked. "I'm not good with computers. I'm amazing with computers."

The older Robin frowned at him. "Do you always brag like that?"

Blinking in surprise, the younger Robin tilted his head at his older self. "Well yeah, if I'm really good at something. Besides shouldn't I be asking why your teammate doesn't know important information about your skillset?"

"Oooh!" Wally yelled out. "Burn!"

"Shut up," the blonde archer hissed at him, elbowing his ribs.

Robin sighed again at the immaturity of his past self. "It's not an important skillset. I don't really need to be hacking into anything anymore. Besides I'm confident in Cyborg's technological skills, so I let him do the majority of the work. He enjoys it."

Cyborg frowned at him, but he didn't say anything about it. In truth, Robin didn't tell the team because he wanted Cyborg to learn more about technology and computers. Since he appeared to hate his body, learning the new skillset seemed to be the only pleasure Cyborg took in that change. Robin didn't want to take that away from him.

The younger Robin, however, didn't know that, and he accidentally let one of his many secrets slip. It made him worry what other information about him would be revealed to the team.

The younger Robin clearly wanted to speak up, but the other leader quickly intervened, "I suppose we should learn each other's names," he stated. "This could help with communication."

"That sounds like a good idea," the older Robin nodded in agreement. Both teams made their way towards the lounge area where there was a couch. Unlike the Titans Tower lounge, it didn't look that homey. It looked like they were still in a cave, which was a little unsettling to the Teen Titans.

"So does anyone actually live here?" Beast boy questioned.

"We do," the alien girl raised her hand and pointed to the Superman-look-alike.

"Where do you guys live then?" Cyborg asked the rest of the team.

"At home," the blonde archer shrugged. "Why?"

The team hesitantly looked at Robin, who subtly nodded his head. Starfire spoke, "We all live together in our tower, which is why we were curious."

The younger Robin raised his eyebrows. "Really? A tower?"

Robin nodded. "Yeah. It's in Jump City."

"You seem surprised," Raven commented.

The past Robin shrugged, seeming a little disappointed when he said, "Well I always thought I'd live in an apartment or something… not flashy."

"It's to lure away the criminals," Robin explained. "I don't have to tell you how many civilians were killed just to draw us out. By having a really flashy tower, criminals are more inclined to attack us than they are to attack civilians."

The other team glanced around, surprised but pleased by that answer. Wally grinned, "That's a really good idea, Rob!"

The younger Robin smirked. "Thanks!"

"I was talking to the other Robin!"

"But he's technically me so…"

"Alright!" The other leader cut in. "Let's introduce ourselves, and we can determine how we will tell the two Robin's apart."

The older Robin nodded in agreement. "Your team can go first."

The dark skinned leader nodded. "Alright. I am Aqualad, but you may call me Kaldur. I am the leader of this team."

Beast boy, Cyborg, and Starfire seemed shocked that he was the leader, but they didn't say anything.

"I'm Kid Flash!" The boy in yellow and red grinned. "And Robin already revealed that my name's Wally, so I guess you know that about me too."

The alien smiled. "I'm M'gann or Miss Martian."

"Superboy. Conner." The Superman-look-alike grunted, crossing his muscular arms over his chest.

"Artemis." The blonde archer smirked. "My codename is also Artemis just to throw people off."

The younger Robin snorted. "Her name is really convenient. Anyway, I'm Robin."

"And like older Robin already told you, we don't know who he is," Wally commented.

"Except you apparently," Artemis glared at him.

"Yeah about that," the younger Robin spoke up with a sheepish grin. "Don't tell Batman! Please?"

Wally frowned. "Wait Batman doesn't know?"

"Nope."

"So I could be killed in my sleep?"

"Batman doesn't kill people…"

"So I might end up in a coma the next time I fall asleep?!"

"Yeah probably."

"Great!" Wally exclaimed, pouting. "I haven't even kissed M'gann yet!"

Artemis sighed, rubbing her forehead. "She's dating Conner, you idiot!"

"She could still go for me!"

Cyborg snorted, turning to his leader. "Nice team you got there, Robin."

Robin raised an eyebrow. "Right because you've never had stupid arguments with anyone before."

That shut him right up. Starfire giggled in result, and that sound grabbed the other team's attention. "Right…" Aqualad cleared his throat. "That's all of us. What about you all?"

"I'm Robin, as you all know."

"Starfire!" She clapped her hands together with a bright grin. "Like M'gann, I am also an alien!"

"Raven."

"My name's Cyborg," he grinned.

"And I'm Beast boy!" Beast boy exclaimed, placing his hands on his hips.

Aqualad nodded. "It is nice to meet you all. I assume Robin is your team leader?"

The younger Robin slightly frowned when he heard that, and Raven took notice of it. The older Robin, on the other hand, just nodded. "I am."

Aqualad smiled fondly. "I knew you had it in you. Why start a new team instead of taking up the mantle here?"

The older Robin let out a breath of air. "It's complicated."

"I see," Aqualad frowned but did not comment any further. "Since there are two Robin's, I believe we call you different names, so you know who we are talking to."

The younger Robin laughed. "Well we can't do it by our real names since Batman would kill me, and your team doesn't know who you are. How else should we do it?"

Cyborg shrugged. "How about Rob and Robin?"

"I'll be Robin." The older Robin immediately stated.

The younger shrugged. "Okay. That was easy."

Just as they finished settling that out, the emotionless voice of the computer started listing names. The titans, except for Robin, frowned and turned towards the entrance to the cave only to gasp. "Oh…. My…." Beast boy's eyes widened.

"No way!" Cyborg whispered as his hands began to tremble.

Three members of the Justice League just walked into the cave.

And by the looks of it, they were not happy.

* * *

Alice: Here's a translation of what they were saying (and don't worry, I'm going to keep the second language to a minimum):

"Does mean what, little bird?"

"You can speak Romani?"

"I can. I'd be careful what you say, little bird. My teammate Starfire can speak it as well."

"Believe me now, little bird?"

Emily: Just a warning, I used Google translate for Romanian since it doesn't have Romani. This means that the language is not at all accurate, so I apologize to anyone reading this who can speak fluent Romanian!

Alice: Thanks for reading!

Emily: Let me know what you thought!

Alice: For those of you thinking there's not much RobRae in this story, don't worry! The RobRae will slowly start to increase.


	3. Introducing the Justice League!

Alice: New chapter!

Emily: Thanks so much for reading and supporting the story!

Alice: Enjoy!

* * *

 **Introducing the Justice League!**

Beast boy couldn't help but obnoxiously stare at the Justice League members who just walked in. While he could visibly see they were agitated, he couldn't tear his eyes away from them. As a child, he always imagined fighting with the Justice League. Particularly, he dreamed of being another one of Batman's sidekicks. The dark, heroic figure had always been one of Beast boy's favorite heroes. When it was announced that Batman was fighting with a kid named Robin, Beast boy started focusing on the child sidekick, who he grew to admire. His entire childhood was dedicated to pretending he was Robin's best friend and Batman was his mentor.

Unfortunately, Batman was not one of the heroes who walked in.

Still, just because Batman was his favorite didn't discount his worshipping of the other superheroes.

Superman, Wonder Woman, and Martian Manhunter were the three Justice League members who walked in, and their eyes immediately geared towards the team from the future. "It's them!" Beast boy gasped out, grabbing Cyborg's arm.

"I know!" The older boy practically squealed. Even Starfire and Raven appeared star struck by the appearance of the superheroes.

Rob frowned. "You mean you haven't met them before?"

Cyborg numbly shook his head, unaware of the affect his actions had on the boy. "Would it be weird if I asked for an autograph?" He faintly whispered.

"Wait why haven't you guys met them yet?" Rob intervened again. "Didn't Robin introduce you?"

"No… Robin never talks about the Justice League," Beast boy, who was in awe of the sight before him, didn't realize the important information he just gave away. Rob frowned at the statement but didn't get the chance to ask them about it. The Justice League members approached the two teams, appearing both startled and confused by the second team's presence.

Aqualad sighed, about to take a step forward and greet the members, but Robin had already moved in front of both teams. Aqualad frowned at his action but remained standing where he was.

"Hello," Robin greeted. "I don't know how much you know, but I'm Robin from the future. This is my team of superheroes who are also from the future."

Wonder Woman narrowed her eyes. "Yes, Kaldur filled us in while you were on the ship. You seem to have the team convinced that you're really Robin."

"Well it wasn't hard considering it's the truth," he stated, unafraid of Wonder Woman's obvious distrust.

"And how can you prove it?" she looked at the leader as though he were a piece of dirt on her boot. Robin supposed it was only fair. He would be distrustful if someone who claimed to be him from the future came to the Titans Tower. He just needed to prove his situation to the Justice League.

Robin's eyes drifted to Martian Manhunter. "Look in my mind and see. Although I'd suggest staying out of the future part since it'd be spoiling the surprise."

Martian Manhunter expressed no reaction to his words. "Is that how you convinced the team? By having my niece look through your mind?"

It was a trick question, and Robin smirked. "No, your niece doesn't know who I am. You do. Go ahead and look. Just stay out of what's to come."

If Martian Manhunter was surprised by his words, he didn't show it. Instead he nodded his head and closed his eyes. Robin twitched at the feeling of someone going through his memories, but he forced himself to relax. He could feel the teams' eyes on him, and he tried putting on a strong face. On the inside though, he was practically trembling out of nervousness. He hadn't seen the Justice League in years, and he considered the majority of them family. To see them like this was almost cruel. Perhaps that's what Warp wanted when he sent them there.

"You are who you say you are," Martian Manhunter concluded, interrupting his thoughts. Robin sighed in relief when he felt his presence leave his mind.

Wonder Woman's eyes widened, and she took another look at the boy before her. "You've grown," she muttered, taking in his new appearance.

"I should hope so considering I'm eighteen," Robin smirked.

Superman examined him. "You're so… different. You've matured."

Robin could sense the unease in his tone. He shrugged, "A lot can happen in five years especially with this line of work. I just realized one day that I couldn't be a kid anymore."

Rob narrowed his eyes at the wording his older self used. Was that directed at him? A warning of what was to come? Or a proclamation of how he should grow up? Since Robin didn't bother turning back, Rob supposed it might have been an innocent comment about his past and not a direct insult at him.

"What exactly happened that lead you here?" Martian Manhunter asked calmly.

Robin sighed and started explaining what happened with Warp. The Justice League members, who never heard of the criminal before, listened closely to his story and were quiet when he finished.

"So you're stuck here for now then," Wonder Woman crossed her arms and sighed.

Robin nodded. "Warp has the power to disrupt the time-space continuum. My teammate, Starfire, was thrown into the future not long ago. Because in our time she disappeared, she saw a future where our team was disbanded due to her disappearance. When she came back, that future became irrelevant. I think Warp wanted to do something similar to that except he wants to change the present through my past."

Beast boy blinked and leaned over to Cyborg, "What did he just say?"

"Warp wants us to change the past, so our future will be gone," Cyborg stated simply.

Kid Flash grinned, nudging Rob. "Your future self is so cool!"

Rob snorted but remained silent. If he were explaining the situation, he would have put in a couple jokes or use a lighter tone to make the problem seem less severe. Robin appeared to be very cut and dry which was so unlike him now. Was that really his future? If it was, it reminded Rob far too much of—

"So you think your future will be different when you return?" Martian Manhunter asked.

"I don't think so," Robin shook his head. "I'm pretty sure I would have remembered a visit from my future self when I was thirteen, but I don't. My team and I will definitely return, but I doubt you will all remember our arrival in the first place. It's possible I asked you and M'gann to erase your memories of the event to ensure our present isn't changed."

Superman scratched the top of his head. "Wow Robin… you really…"

Robin smirked. "Have this all figured out? Of course I do. You can't lead if you don't have a plan."

Wonder Woman nodded, taking another look at the boy in front of her. "So what are you going to do now?"

"Warp will reveal himself sooner or later. I'm pretty sure he has to be in the same time zone as we do since the floor opened underneath us, so we just need to wait. In the meantime, I was actually wondering if you could let me look at your files? You sent the team on a mission today."

"Our files?" Superman exclaimed.

"There has been strange criminal activity," Wonder Woman stated. "Multiple organized crimes have risen, and they all seem to be from the same source which we can't identify."

"Let me look," Robin practically commanded. The three Justice League members glanced at each other before nodding. They began walking away as Robin followed, but he quickly turned to his team and gave them a look that warned them to behave. Beast boy rolled his eyes and waved goodbye as they walked out of the room.

Artemis raised an eyebrow, turning to Rob. "Since when are you such a workaholic?"

"Since when isn't he a workaholic?" Cyborg snorted. "I swear, that guy is going to get gray hair by the time he's twenty."

Rob scrunched up his nose in distaste. "I hope not," he commented before a large grin appeared on his face. "Video games?"

"Oh yeah!" Wally, Cyborg, and Beast boy all exclaimed. Rob cackled before doing a backflip, grabbing the edge of the couch, and turning over in midair to land on the couch.

Cyborg gaped.

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Do you always show off like that?" she asked rather rudely.

Kid Flash grumbled, "All the time."

"He's like a monkey," Artemis commented.

"I hate monkeys," Conner grumbled as he plopped down on the chair.

The team winced in sympathy, but the Teen Titans only frowned at his strange behavior.

M'gann took it upon herself to explain, "Superman always makes him feel like this," she sighed, sitting on the armrest of the chair.

Beast boy's eyes widened. "Wait, are you his son?"

That only caused an angrier expression to appear. "No, I'm his clone," he spat out.

"So yes?" Starfire's gaze turned sympathetic. "Do not worry, friend! I am sure the Superman will come around!"

M'gann clapped her hands together with a large grin. "See? She thinks so too!"

"Whatever," Conner grumbled.

"If you need someone to talk to about it, you could try talking to Robin," Cyborg offered, trying to be nice. The other team, however, just looked at him in confusion while Beast boy turned pale.

"Dude, should you really be talking about that? What if Robin finds out? He'll skin you alive!" He squeaked.

"Robin won't find out," Cyborg reassured.

"Robin always finds out!" Beast boy exclaimed.

Rob frowned again, "What are you guys talking about?"

Raven glared at the two boys on her team. "Nothing," she sent them a warning glare. "Nothing at all."

"It's just something we aren't allowed to talk about," Starfire gave him a kind smile. "Robin becomes very tense and angry when we mention it, so we made an unofficial rule that we should never talk about his situation."

Rob groaned in frustration. "What situation?" He exclaimed.

As if the universe heard his plea, the computer announced the arrival of a new Justice League member. The team's head whipped towards the door where Batman was standing there in all of his glory.

The Teen Titan's gaped at the sight, and even Raven had trouble controlling her expressions. Batman slowly walked up to the team, and his eyes narrowed under the cowl making him look extremely intimidating. The outfit he wore highlighted his strong build, and the colors were almost pure black. The only colored item was his gold utility belt, but even those colors were very muted. His aura gave off such a seriousness and darkness that Beast boy actually took a step back out of fear. Raven was startled by the lack of emotions coming from him, which was something she had never felt before. He almost felt empty, void. Like he wasn't even a person….

"Hey Batman!"

The Teen Titans jumped at when Rob grinned at his mentor. Cyborg gaped at the carefree nature the teen had around him, and even balked when Rob jumped up and walked in front of him. "I'm guessing they informed you about the future team?"

"They did," his voice was rough and contained no emotion. "What happened?"

"We were spying on those men, and these guys decided to fight them," Rob pointed at the team.

Cyborg paled when Batman's eyes turned on him. "We didn't mean to!" He exclaimed. "We were just… there!"

"I see," Batman scanned him. "You are Robin's team then?"

"Y-yes," Beast boy squeaked. "It's nice to meet you, sir! I've heard so much about you! I was your biggest fan when I was a kid!"

Batman frowned. "This is your first time meeting me?"

"Yes!" Starfire exclaimed, grinning brightly at the man although her teammates could tell she was slightly trembling. "It is very good to meet you! I am Starfire of Tamaran, and I—"

"Guys," Robin suddenly walked back in the room with the Justice League members behind him. "I just read over some of these files from the mission earlier. I'm pretty sure these crime structures match—"

He stopped dead when he realized who else was in the room with the team. His eyes widened behind the mask when he saw Batman standing there. What was even worse was the fact that Rob was standing in front of him with a giant grin. The Titans froze, and the other team just frowned at his strange behavior. Even the Justice League members looked at him strangely.

"Batman." Robin stated stiffly.

"Robin."

* * *

Alice: Sorry for taking so long to post! School has been crazy.

Emily: Anyways, I'm going to try to update within the next two weeks.

Alice: Thanks for reading!


	4. Batman and Robin Reunited

Alice: New chapter!

Emily: School's been crazy, so I won't be able to update as often as I would like. I'm sorry about that.

Alice: But I will update as often as I can!

Emily: Also, I've received two guest reviews asking questions about my story. I can't reply to you individually because you are a guest, but I can answer them here! Below are the two guest reviews with the questions! So if you reviewed as a guest with a question, here are your answers!

 **Guest reiew:** I really doubt Starfire and Raven would be star struck by members of the Justice League. They didn't grow up idolize get them to care. One is a warrior princess and the other is one of the most dangerous beings ever. Though I loved this chapter I have questions.

1\. How long have the Titans been together? (I estimate 2 years)

2\. Have all the events happened yet for the Teen Titans in the series? (I hope so)

3\. How old are the other Titans?

4\. Wasn't Speedy in Titans? No Red Arrow in this story?

5\. Kid Flash also is a Titan. One of the other differences between Young Justice and Titans is that there are over 30 Titans including honorary members. Will we see any and is this KF's status as a Titan is ever mentioned?

Sorry I ask so many questions. I'm just super in love with story idea that I want to know everything about it.

 **My reply:** Ask as many questions as you would like, and I'm glad you like my story! As for the first part of your review, Raven's idealism of the Justice League will be explained in further chapters (basically that line was foreshadowing something, so I'm super happy you picked up on it!). As for Starfire, many of the Justice League members are aliens, so I think multiple alien races would be aware of the Justice League (and admire them like Starfire does) especially since they do have missions in space. As for your questions, here are the answers:

The titans have been together for around two years! Nice estimation!

All of the events in the Teen Titans have happened except for the movie and the RobStar romance. A lot of the events in the Teen Titans won't be talked about though. For the most part, season 1 and season 4 are talked about in detail while all other events are just mentioned.

Robin, Raven, and Starfire are currently 18. Cyborg is 19, and Beast boy is 17.

Speedy is a part of the Teen Titans. Red Arrow does play a part in this story although he won't be focused on that much.

Kid Flash's future will also be discussed and talked about later on as well. I don't want to give too much away, but the fate of the Young Justice group and how that affects the Teen Titans will be revealed!

I hope that answers all your questions!

 **Guest Reivew:** when will chapter four be out and is this actually going to be a Raven and Robin fanfic or is it going to be just friendship between hem

 **My reply:** Chapter 4 is out right now, and you're currently reading it :) There will be a romance between Robin and Raven! It's going to be a slow build, but it will happen! This is a RobRae story! It's just very a very plot heavy story, and the romance will come in bits and pieces (unlike my other story "With You"). As things become more intense in the story, more of the relationship and romance will be fleshed out. I hope that answers your question!

* * *

 **Batman and Robin Reunited**

Robin merely stared at Batman at first. After the initial, one-word greeting, it was becoming increasingly obvious to everyone in the room that Robin was not happy to see his mentor. His body was becoming tenser, and his hands were slightly shaking. Batman frowned at his behavior but said nothing. Instead he watched his protégé, who was just staring at him without saying a word. Rob frowned and glanced between the two, wondering what exactly was going on.

Suddenly Robin took in a deep breath, effectively calming himself, before turning to the members of his team. "As I was saying," he continued as though nothing happened, "I've seen the structure of these crimes before. They're exactly like—"

"The crime structures on the 248K case?" Batman interrupted him, his eyes focusing on the papers Robin was holding.

Robin stiffened and answered without even looking at him, "Along with cases 253B, 267E, and 251G. As I was saying, these crimes all have similar structures, and they match—"

"They all have organized crime structures with a large group exporting and transporting multiple materials but with no known leader. You have a theory on who the leader is?" Batman interrupted once again, taking a step closer to Robin, who subconsciously took a step back as a result. Superman shifted slightly at the tension and glanced at Wonder Woman, who appeared shock by Robin's behavior. Everyone in the room, except for the Teen Titans, had expressions of shock and disbelief.

"Yes," Robin stated through gritted teeth, still addressing his team. "I've dealt a criminal who uses these same tactics. I think it's—"

"You've confronted a criminal with these tactics?" Batman continued questioning Robin. "Not 'your team' and not 'you and me.' Just you?"

"For God's sake, will you let me finish?" Robin snapped, whipping his head towards his former mentor and outright glaring at him.

The room became much more tense after that. The younger Rob's jaw nearly dropped at the absolute rude behavior his older self was exhibiting towards their father figure. While Batman and Rob had fights in the past, he never outright snapped at him like that. The last time he was that cold and indifferent to Batman was the first few months Rob lived with him, but their relationship has developed since then! At least, Rob thought it had…

Batman pursed his lips together but gave a stiff nod of his head. Robin scoffed and turned back to his team, "Anyway," his voice held much more anger than before. "I think Slade's the one who's doing this."

The Teen Titans gasped as a result while the Justice League and their protégés just appeared confused. "Are you sure?" Raven clarified.

Robin nodded, "I'm positive."

"No way…" Beast boy whispered.

"Slade?" Superman mumbled to Wonder Woman.

Robin sighed before looking directly at Rob, who tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Rob, have you noticed anything strange lately? Strange crimes in Gotham that seem to be specific to using your skills to solve them?"

"All of the crimes in Gotham need my skills to solve them," Rob replied cheekily.

"Be serious!" Robin and Batman ordered at the same time, which caused Robin to freeze as a result. Rob blinked in surprise, frowning at the two. They spoke at the same time in the same tone… that rarely happened with Rob and Batman. In fact, it never happened. Although now that he thought about it, he realized it made sense. Robin was…

"Look," Robin sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Are there any crimes without a specific leader, or even with a specific leader, that seemed to be very focused on you instead of Batman?"

Rob shook his head. "Not that I've noticed. Why would the crimes be focused on me? Who is this Slade guy?"

Robin snorted as if Rob said something funny. Instead of replying to Rob's question, Robin just walked back to the couch and sat down, spreading the files over the coffee table. He started reading over them and mumbled to himself about how there was "no way."

Wonder Woman frowned at his behavior and turned to his mentor, "Batman," she stated stiffly.

He didn't bother replying to her. He didn't even look at her actually. Instead he kept his eyes on Robin and asked, "Robin, who is Slade?"

Robin paused in his reading, but he didn't tear his eyes away from it. He sighed and said, "He's a criminal that my team has dealt with in the past… or the future, I guess. He's an incredibly smart master manipulator with psychopathic tendencies. He's been the only criminal that has been able to constantly undermine us, which makes dealing with him incredibly frustrating."

The Titans all glanced at each other, frowning at Robin's blatant lie. Well, it wasn't exactly a lie. He just decided to leave out that Slade was utterly obsessed with Robin. Raven briefly wondered if that was because Robin didn't want Batman coddling him or if it was to protect him from the truth. Either way, Raven wondered how long Robin would be able to keep that specific information from Batman especially considering the suspicious questions Robin asked Rob.

"Psychopathic tendencies? You don't think he's an actual psychopath?" Cyborg asked, hoping to distract Batman from asking any questions about Slade. He wasn't sure Robin would react well to Batman, a man he practically hates, asking about Slade, a man he was obsessed with and also hated.

"No, he cares too much to be a psychopath," Robin replied as he read through the files. Before anyone in the room could ask him what he meant by "cares too much," he turned to M'gann, who jumped in surprised when his attention was focused on her. "Do you have any highlighters? Pens? Pencils?"

"Y-yes?" M'gann stammered.

"Mind bringing them here?" Robin asked politely. After she nodded, M'gann quickly flew away to grant his request. Robin then turned to Superboy, who was about to follow his girlfriend out of the room. "Do you have any extra office space?"

Superboy furrowed his eyebrows. "No."

Robin frowned. "Really? None?"

"Does this look like an office building?" Superboy snapped, and Robin held out his hands in defense.

"Calm down there Supey," he smirked. "I was just asking."

Superboy scoffed but didn't reply. Just as he did, M'gann came rushing back with a handful of writing utensils and highlighters. Robin smiled and thanked her, taking them from her hands before taking going back to his notes.

Wally bit the inside of his cheek at the silence and turned to the Teen Titans, "So I'm guessing you guys are staying here tonight? Since you don't have anywhere else to go?"

The Titans glanced at each other before Cyborg nodded, "I guess so," he sighed.

"Awesome!" Wally beamed. "I guess we can show you to your rooms!"

Raven raised an eyebrow, "You have extra rooms but not an office space?"

"Some people have to live here, but no one has to work here. All of the old offices are now storage space," Artemis commented, crossing her arms at them. "Even then, we only have two spare rooms."

"I suppose Raven and I shall share a room then!" Starfire perked up, beaming at the other girl.

Raven narrowed her eyes. "Great…" she grumbled.

Cyborg snickered at Raven's misfortunes before turning to Robin, "Hear that? We're sharing a room."

M'gann nodded and smiled at the older version of her teammate. "Would you like us to show you to your rooms?"

"Yes please!" Starfire clapped her hands together. She twirled around to face Robin, who was still sitting on the couch looking over the files. "Robin, M'gann is showing us the rooms!"

"I know where the rooms are," Robin rejected her offer. "I still need to look through these files and see what Slade's planning."

Starfire frowned in disappointment but nodded her head. She turned to the other team and grinned. "Shall we start?"

As the two teams filtered out of the room to start the tour, the four members of the Justice League and Robin lingered behind. Batman was still staring at Robin as though trying to figure him out while the other three members remained a few feet away. Wonder Woman scowled at the scene before her. Superman knew she was about to make a comment and quickly spoke before she could, "So Robin," Superman put on his best smile. "You really like to do research now, don't you?"

Robin frowned and turned around to face Superman. "Do you mind?" he asked, gesturing to his work. "I need to figure this out. If it really is Slade who's doing this, then the team might be in danger."

Superman flinched at the rude remark and glanced at Batman, who was still intensely staring at Robin.

"A-alright then," Superman politely smiled. "I guess I'll… I'll ask you later?"

Robin hummed in response but didn't bother actually answering. Wonder Woman was about to speak up, but Martian Manhunter put a hand on her shoulder. Her head whipped towards him with an intense look, but he merely shook his head, signaling this was not the right time. She sighed and nodded her head. With that, the three Justice League members looked at Batman, who turned to them for the first time and gave them a gesture to leave the room.

Wonder Woman once again scowled at him before walking out with the other two members at her side.

Batman sighed and turned to Robin again, "Robin," he mumbled, and Robin froze.

"What part of 'I have to do this research' do you not understand?" Robin hissed at him.

Batman didn't react to Robin's rude behavior. "I have extra office space back at home," he offered. "You can use that."

"No."

Batman frowned, "No?"

Robin narrowed his eyes. "No, I'm staying here with my team."

Batman clenched his fists, about to comment on Robin's attitude towards him when the two young teams walked back into the room, unaware of what just happened. "Those rooms are really tiny," Beast boy loudly complained. "How are Robin, Cyborg, and me going to fit in it? That's not fair!"

"Well those rooms are meant for one person," Artemis smirked. "Not three."

"I am sorry," Aqualad apologized. "But it is all we have."

Rob smirked. "Guess you three will just have to figure it out."

Cyborg and Beast boy mockingly glared at Rob, who stuck out his tongue in response. Raven rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Men," under her breath.

Starfire giggled, latching onto her arm. "At least we are not like that, yes?"

"Don't touch me."

Rob snickered. That's when he noticed Batman and Robin from the corner of his eye. Turning towards his mentor, he smiled and walked towards him. "Ready to go?"

Batman nodded and turned back to Robin. "Are you sure you would not like to come back with us?" He asked again although he didn't expect the answer to change.

"I'm fine here," Robin emotionlessly stated.

Rob expected that response, but he still looked upset with it. "Alright," he shrugged, trying to play it off. He turned to the team and smiled, "I'll see you guys tomorrow then."

"Bye Rob!" Wally obnoxiously waved.

Rob snorted before walking out of the cave with Batman at his side. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced back and saw Robin still focused on the files. He didn't expect his older self to part with them any time soon. It nagged at Rob how he sat though. His back was hunched over, and he had the papers close to his eyes, which were narrowed as they scanned the contents of the files. It was just like…

He shook his head. It was only day one with the team from the future, so he didn't really know Robin. Maybe the leader will prove in the upcoming days that he was nothing like Rob expected he was…

He really hoped so.

* * *

Alice: Thanks for reading!

Emily: Enjoy your week! Happy October!

Alice: The next update should be in two or so weeks.

Emily: Let me know what you think of the story so far!


	5. Morning at the Mount

Alice: New chapter!

Emily: I hope you guys like it!

Alice: This is going to be a longer story than I originally thought, so expect a lot of plot!

Emily: But there's a lot of upcoming romance as well! Anyways, enjoy the new chapter!

* * *

 **Morning at the Mount  
**

Bruce Wayne prided himself on his intelligence. His deduction skills were outright extraordinary, which is how he solved so many crimes so quickly. Many newspapers and media outlets dubbed Batman Gotham's "greatest detective." Only very few people could undermine his intelligence. He could easily predict how a situation would turn out and how he could ensure that it would be to his advantage. Rarely anything surprised him, and he was always on guard for any changes.

Yet, strangely, the behavior and personality of the future Robin stunned him.

Dick was always a playful boy who was rarely serious, which caused multiple problems during training and crime fighting; however, Bruce had grown to love Dick's childish antics. He was, after all, a child, so he should behave like one even in adult situations. While he didn't expect Dick to remain a child forever, he didn't quite expect him to grow up into such a serious adult at such a young age.

Dick most likely did not expect that either.

That was most likely why Bruce woke up to hear the sounds of pained grunts and hits coming from the gym. He sighed and immediately made his way to Dick's personalized training room. It was filled with acrobatic equipment and open space so that Dick could practice his fighting techniques without running into any equipment (that had actually been a problem when Bruce and Dick shared a training room). The two of them had very different fighting style from Batman, who was very stiff when he fought unlike Dick, who was very fluid and liked to show off the skills he learned in the circus.

Right now Dick was punching and kicking one of the bags strung up in the air, and he was doing multiple backflips after each blow. Judging by his unusual stiffness, he was attempting to release stress. "Dick?" Bruce spoke out. The boy paused for a moment before swinging his leg up and kicking the bag right in the center.

"Yeah?" he panted, not even bothering to turn to his mentor.

"Are you alright?"

Dick was quiet for a few moments before his arms reached out and grabbed the bag, steadying it until it ceased all movement. He sighed and turned around, his hair dripping with sweat. "Yeah," he panted out. "I'm fine. It's just…"

"He's not what you expected?" Bruce finished for him.

Dick nodded. "I don't get it," he crossed his legs and sat in that position.

Bruce nodded in understanding, "I don't either," he confessed, approaching Dick and sitting next to him.

Dick sighed and hugged his knees, resting his chin on top of them. "Why does he behave like that? He acts like he hates you!"

Bruce had definitely noticed the outright hostile behavior Robin displayed towards him. "I think he's trying to assert his leadership by behaving in that manner," Bruce stated. "I'm a reminder of who he was as a child, and he's trying to prove to his teammates that he is no longer a goofy kid but a serious leader. He might act differently with the mask off."

Dick frowned but nodded. "I guess that makes sense. I just hope you're right."

 _Me too, kid. Me too._

"When am I ever wrong?" Bruce joked, lightly nudging Dick's sweaty shoulder. "Now get ready. We have to go to Mount Justice soon to figure out what we are going to do with that team."

"Okay," Dick nodded. He practically threw his upper body back towards the ground, but he held out his arms. This allowed him to hoist up his lower body and jump into a standing position. "I'll be ready in five."

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "Make that fifteen. You smell terrible."

He received a mock punch in the arm for that one.

* * *

"I know what I'll do!" M'gann giggled, practically dragging her boyfriend to the kitchen. "I'll make some pancakes for everyone. Everyone likes pancakes, right?"

"I do." Conner replied, a small smile on his face as he allowed himself to be pushed into the kitchen. "I think they will too… if you don't burn them."

M'gann flushed and pouted. "I won't burn them! I think I've gotten a lot better at cooking. I even made some delicious cookies the other day."

"You did."

M'gann smiled brightly, "Thanks Conner."

As the two of them walked into the kitchen, M'gann jumped when she realized someone else was there too. The future version of Robin was standing by the counter holding a cup of coffee, and his eyebrow was raised at the two of them.

"Robin!" M'gann exclaimed. "You're up! When did you wake up?"

"About an hour ago," he replied, taking a small sip of his hot coffee. M'gann blinked and took in his appearance. It was already very early, so she was surprised he woke up even earlier than they did. Conner and M'gann always woke up first.

"Why are you still in your clothes?" Conner asked, his eyes taking in Robin's uniform.

Robin glanced down at himself and shrugged, "I didn't have any other clothes to change into, so I slept in these."

"In those?" M'gann exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's not like I could sleep in anything else. None of my stuff is here," he explained.

"That's terrible!" M'gann crossed her arms. "We need to go shopping today."

Robin frowned. "No thanks," he declined. "I have work to do, and—"

"And you can hardly do work if you only have one pair of clothes," M'gann stated firmly. "It's bad hygiene."

"I'm sure we won't be here that long where clothes become a problem," he attempted to pacify her, but it was clearly a losing battle. M'gann had that determined look in her eye that ensured she would get what she wanted. It was a rare sight, but when she had that expression, there was rarely anything anyone could do to get in her way.

"We are going shopping and that's final."

"Shopping?"

The three superheroes turned to see the Teen Titans standing in the doorway. Starfire had been the one who spoke, and her eyes practically sparkled at the mention of shopping. The alien girl quickly flew next to M'gann and faced Robin with a pleading expression, "Please Robin?" She begged, and Robin gulped. Cyborg and Beast boy snickered, nudging each other and whispering how Robin couldn't possibly say no to her.

Robin sighed, looking between the hopeful, pleading expressions of the two aliens. "Fine," he gritted through his teeth, "but we have to be back by five."

"Yes!" M'gann beamed, and Starfire giggled.

"Why do we have to be back by five?"

Everyone in the kitchen turned around to see Rob standing there with a smirk on his lips. Batman was standing a few feet behind him with his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed.

M'gann answered happily, "We are going shopping for the Teen Titans! They only have the outfits they are wearing now, and they need proper clothing."

Rob nodded and turned to the Titans, who were all wearing the same clothing as the day before. "Yeah, that's a good point. Have fun you guys!"

Conner raised an eyebrow, "You're not coming with us?"

"Training," Rob grinned although Robin could tell he was lying.

M'gann pouted, "That's too bad. I supposed we will see you when we get back?"

"Me and probably the rest of the team," Rob nodded.

Before M'gann could reply, Batman took a step towards the team, "I'll give you money for the trip."

"No thanks."

Everyone in the room directed their attention to Robin, who spoke. He was leaning against the counter with the cup of coffee in his hands, glaring at Batman. Batman narrowed his eyes, looking first at the beverage in his hands then at his protégé's face. Rob immediately appeared crestfallen, sensing another argument about to begin. "You'll need money."

Robin's grip on the mug tightened. "I have emergency money that I can use to pay for the team's expenses," he retorted. "We don't need your charity."

"You should save that money for an actual emergency."

"Being stuck in the past with no way to return home sounds like an emergency to me. We don't need your money," Robin reaffirmed.

Batman clenched his fists, about to give the boy a lecture, when something rather strange happened.

"Robin just take the money," the dark haired girl snapped at him.

Robin turned to her and frowned. "We don't need—"

"We don't need to waste time by arguing about this," she argued. "Just forget about your pride and take the money."

Sighing, the leader of the Teen Titans nodded and turned to Batman, "Fine. We'll take the money."

It was clear that he did not want to take the money, but he didn't want to further upset Raven by arguing about it. Rob raised an eyebrow at this development and turned to Batman, who gave him a very similar look. A small smile began to break onto Rob's face. Robin rolled his eyes at the friendliness between them.

M'gann, who noticed Robin's eye roll, immediately spoke before another argument broke out, "Can we go now?"

The team turned to Robin, who sighed. "Yeah sure. Let's go shopping."

M'gann and Starfire immediately started excitedly speaking as Conner just stared at them blankly. The rest of the team started following M'gann, who was still discussing what shops they would go to with Starfire. As they walked out of the cave, Rob turned to Batman and tilted his head thoughtfully, "Did you see that?"

"I did." Batman stated. "Maybe we misinterpreted some things."

Rob nodded, "Maybe."

* * *

Alice: Thanks for reading! The next chapter will be very lighthearted.

Emily: Enjoy your week! Happy Halloween!

Alice: Get lots of candy!


	6. Let's Go to the Mall

Alice: New chapter!

Emily: I hope you all like it!

Alice: There will be more RobRae bonding in this one.

Emily: And shopping! Don't forget shopping!

Alice: Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

 **Let's Go to the Mall**

The first thing they had to do was a find disguise. After all, they could hardly go to a public mall wearing their uniforms. M'gann lent some of her clothes to Starfire and Raven. While they didn't perfectly fit, the clothing was still wearable which was all they needed for the moment. For Robin, he found a spare pair of sunglasses and borrowed some clothes from Conner. Since Conner was both taller and larger than Robin, who was more petit and lean, the clothes did not fit. At all. When the team first saw him in an oversized t-shirt with a pair of pants that wouldn't stay around his waist, they had to hold in their laughter. He looked absolutely ridiculous, and judging by his facial expression, he knew it too.

It was harder for Cyborg and Beast boy to find a disguise. Eventually they decided to find a hoodie for Beast boy and another pair of spare sunglasses. They had to hide as much of his green skin as possible so he wouldn't draw attention. With Cyborg, it was along the same lines. Luckily Conner was a very large teenager, and he had a large collection of sweatshirts that Cyborg was able to wear. Like Beast boy, he simply put the hood over his head. His appearance reminded the team of when they first met him since he wore very similar clothing.

"Alright!" M'gann clapped her hands together, looking over the other team with a large smile. "We're ready. You all look great!"

Robin scoffed and pulled up the collar of his shirt, which exposed his entire shoulder.

"Thank you!" Starfire beamed, flying over to the girl and grabbing her hands. "This is most gracious of you to let us wear your clothing!"

M'gann blushed, "Oh it's no trouble at all! Really!"

"Even so, it was still—"

"I think Starfire found a new best friend," Robin muttered to Raven, who nodded her head in agreement. It was actually amusing how well the two girls got along when they had only known each other for a day. Then again, Raven could see how alike they acted and that probably contributed to their blooming friendship.

"Just wait. Starfire's going to try and take her home with us," Raven whispered back, and Robin laughed in reply.

His laugh was enough to break through to the two chatting girls, and they turned to their teammates, who were waiting for them. Starfire giggled and turned to M'gann, "Shall we go, Megan?" Starfire asked, using M'gann's code name.

M'gann smiled, and Beast boy gaped as her skin began to change from a green color to a pale pink. When she was finished transforming, she looked completely human! Beast boy stared at her with something akin to envy, but she didn't notice. "Alright everyone!" She smiled. "Let's go!"

* * *

It didn't take that long to arrive to the mall, which was pretty good. The downside was that it was a Saturday, so many people crowded into the mall. It unnerved Robin a bit, and he didn't know if that meant the chances of Cyborg and Beast boy being noticed went up or down. He decided to just take a few deep breaths and calm himself. After all, if someone did see them, M'gann could just erase their memories.

Wait, did she know how to do that in this time? Or was that something she discovered later on?  
"I can hear you thinking."

Robin turned to Raven, who was walking by his side. M'gann and Starfire had taken the lead, and the two girls were gossiping about who-knows-what. That left Robin and Raven following behind them, and Beast boy, Cyborg, and Conner in the back.

Robin sighed, "Sorry. I do that a lot."

"I noticed," Raven deadpanned. "Just relax. What's the worst that could happen?"

"You know, that's just asking the universe to send something bad our way. Just to be ironic," Robin smirked, and Raven playfully shoved him. He laughed and shook his head, "I'll calm down. I promise."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "You? Calm? That I'd like to see."

Robin rolled his eyes, "Don't blame me. Blame my anxiety."

"You have anxiety?"

"You couldn't tell?" Robin smirked. "It's something I got from my mother, which is pretty ironic because my dad was the most laidback guy I've ever met. Opposites attract I guess."

Raven furrowed her eyebrows. Robin never talked about his parents before. Heck, he never talked about his past before. What caused this new development? Robin must have noticed her expression, and he smiled softly at her as though to let her know he was telling her this on purpose. Raven had to stop the blush from coming to her cheeks once again. "So Batman's not your father?"

That wiped the smile off his face pretty quickly. Raven immediately regretted asking the question. After all, she knew better than to talk to him about that! Yet, strangely enough, Robin sighed and shook his head, "No, he's not my father."

"Sorry," she mumbled apologetically. "I didn't mean—"

"It's alright," he reassured her. "It's a valid question. I think I owe it to you to answer some of questions considering I've been acting like an ass lately."

Raven nodded, taking the easy way out of this difficult conversation, "You really have been."

"Yeah, sorry about that. It's been a rough… day," Robin blinked. "Wow, it really does not feel like it's only been a day."

Raven nodded, understanding the feeling. "It hasn't. Don't worry though. We'll catch Warp, and we'll get home."

"Hopefully soon."

"Yeah." Raven nodded.

"Friends!" The team all looked ahead to Starfire, who's arm was practically attached to M'gann's. "I have found us a store in which to shop in!"

She pointed to the giant Forever 21 with a large grin. M'gann, in response, nodded her head with an excited smile. Raven took one look at the place and nearly gagged. The floors and walls in the store were all white and shiny, and the clothes inside were far too preppy and pretty for her tastes.

Cyborg frowned. "Um… Star? That's a girl's store."

Starfire frowned and took another peak into the store. "Oh," she blushed. "We can find something else then, yes?"

Robin took in the disappointed expressions of Starfire and M'gann and said, "No it's fine. You two should shop in there, and we'll find somewhere else. At some point we were going to have to split up anyway."

Starfire tilted her head to the side, "Are you sure?" Starfire questioned. "I will stay with my friends if you would like."

Robin smiled softly. "Star, it's fine. I doubt you'll like the kinds of places I shop in just like how I don't like the places you do. Friends split up at the mall all the time because they need to get different things."

Starfire nodded and beamed at the boy making Cyborg and Beast boy snicker. Conner frowned at the behavior of the two but didn't say anything. "Alright!" Starfire turned to M'gann. "Shall we shop?"

"Oh yes we shall!" M'gann grinned back and glanced at Conner. "Do you want to come with us or stay with Cyborg and Beast boy?"

Conner looked at Cyborg and Beast boy, "Well?" He stated forcifully.

The two of them glanced at each other and shrugged. "We don't care," Cyborg said.

Conner nodded and wordlessly waked to M'gann's side, crossing his arms almost angrily. M'gann smiled at him, and his lip twitched upward as a result. Robin smiled fondly at the two of them and rolled his eyes, "Alright," he said, "let's meet here in an hour?"

"Sounds good," Cyborg nodded. "I think I know a place Beast boy would like."

"You're not getting any clothes?" Beast boy frowned.

"Dude, when do I ever wear clothes?"

"Good point."

Robin snorted. After he pulled out Batman's money (something the team could tell irked him by his annoyed expression), he split it evenly between the four team members. Soon the groups all parted ways. M'gann, Starfire, and Conner walked into Forever 21, and Cyborg and Beast boy wandered off to whatever store Cyborg was talking about. Raven sighed and was about to walk off in a separate direction when Robin asked, "Where are you going?"

Raven raised an eyebrow, "To find a store?"

Robin smirked, "I think I know one you'd like."

"And what about for you?"

"I'm pretty sure we like the same style."

Raven looked like she didn't believe him but shrugged away, "Fine," she said. "Show me the way, boss."

Robin snorted, "Right this way, milady."

* * *

"This has been most fun!" Starfire beamed as she walked out of the Forever 21 with M'gann and Conner.

"It has been!" M'gann agreed enthusiastically while Conner just grunted. "So you're an alien?"

"Yes, I am from Tamaran. Have you heard of it?"

"I have," M'gann nodded, a small frown coming to her lips.

Starfire noticed and immediately sighed, "But no good things about it?"

M'gann's expression turned sympathetic. Yes, she had heard things about Tamaran, and yes, none of them were good. Deemed a strong and proud race, other species were constantly baffled at how often Tamaranean's attempted peace before battle. As a result, Tamaran had been invaded multiple times. That lead to the belief that Tamaranean's were troq's or nothing. When M'gann first heard those rumors, she had been sympathetic to whoever lived on Tamaran. After all, many aliens made assumptions about her based on her race. Deciding the girl needed comfort, she reached out, grabbing the alien's hands, "Hey, don't worry. I'm not the type to be prejudiced against anyone. I'm sure Tamaran is a lovely place!"

Starfire smiled softly, "It is. Thank you."

M'gann smiled back and glanced at Conner before turning her attention to Starfire again, "I get it, you know. On Mars, we have two races: one green, and one white. The green Martians always considered the white Martians inferior and said all of these horrible things about them and… well, I am a white Martian."

"You are?" Starfire frowned. "I do not understand? You were green when I met you?"

"A disguise," she admitted, and Conner stepped towards her, placing his hand on her waist as a form of comfort. "I used to be really uncomfortable with it, so I hid it. Now though… I can't say I'm completely comfortable with my white form, but I don't hate it like I used to. I have my team to thank."

"That is brave of you," Starfire said admiringly. "When I was going through my transformation, I felt that I was ugly, and I ran away. Robin and the team brought me back. They reassured me that I'd always be beautiful, and I am thankful for that as well."

M'gann beamed and hugged the other alien girl. Starfire eagerly hugged back.

"Whoa, what did we miss?"

The two girls turned to see Beast boy and Cyborg standing there with amused expressions. Starfire beamed, "Friends, I have taken solace with my new friend! It has been glorious!" When she took in Beast boy's outfits, she grinned, "Beast boy, you look amazing!"

Beast boy was only wearing a pair of jeans and a hoodie, but he grinned at the comment nonetheless. It had been a while since he wore normal, civilian clothes, so it felt a little strange for him. "Thanks Star! You look good too."

She, of course, was wearing a pink sundress with brown boots. "Thank you!"

"Wow, you guys look good." A new voice joined the conversation. Robin's voice, to be exact.

The team turned towards Robin, and M'gann immediately grinned. "That's something that hasn't changed."

Robin was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans with a blue hoodie and black jacket. Next to him was Raven, who was wearing a pair of ripped up gray skinny jeans and an oversized purple hoodie. Like Robin, she was wearing Osiris shoes; however, instead of focusing on Raven wearing civilian clothes for the first time in her life, they all stared at Robin. Beast boy blinked at him, "Really? I expected that skater style from Raven but not from you!"

Robin tilted his head to the side, "What did you think I would dress like?"

Cyborg shrugged, "I don't know? A preppy boy?"

"No," he shook his head. "I don't dress like that."

Before anyone else could make a comment, Conner asked, "You haven't seen him in civilian clothes before?"

The team all shook their heads, and Robin defended, "We could be called in at any moment to save the town. We need to wear our uniforms at all times, so we don't waste time changing from our civvies to our uniforms."

M'gann nodded, "That's true…"

While it was true, she didn't necessarily agree with that logic. When she went to school to be a normal teenager, it was a relief. A break from all the superhero stuff. While she didn't mind being a hero, it seemed like it would be suffocating to be one all the time. Still, she didn't speak her mind. If that's what made Robin comfortable…

"Anyway," Robin quickly diverted, "are you guys done?"

"Yeah!" Beast boy put his hands on his hips. "I got enough clothes to last me for a week!"

"I did as well!" Starfire beamed.

"We did too," Robin nudged his head towards Raven. "I guess we're settled then? Everyone ready to go back home?"

"Home? Oh, yes!" Starfire nodded, quickly interpreting Robin's code name for Mount Justice.

"Let's go then."

* * *

It didn't take long to get back to the mountain, and Robin was extremely relieved nothing terrible happened at the mall. Back at home, a fight could start up almost anywhere. When the titans went to grab pizza, he always stayed on guard because nine times out of ten _something_ would happen. Then again, he mused, nothing like that ever happened when he was with his previous team. Perhaps maybe it would now be more peaceful whenever they decided to go out...

"Hey you're back!"

Robin's head whipped up at the sight of Wally grinning and waving at them. The rest of the team surrounded them, and they were all in their civvies. Robin had to shake the strange feeling in his chest. After all, it was still weird to see his old teammates together again like this.

Rob blinked and walked towards the other team, smirking when he realized what Robin was wearing. "Wow, I guess I haven't completely changed."

Both teams looked between Robin and Rob. Rob was dressed in almost the exact same manner as Robin only with a bright red sweatshirt and dark maroon jacket. Robin shrugged when everyone started staring at him before making his way to the couch. Rob frowned as his older self pulled out one of the cushions and grabbed the files he was storing underneath. Promptly sitting down, the older Robin spread the files out on the coffee table.

"What, you don't want to hang out with us?" Wally jokingly pouted.

"I have work to do."

Wally frowned, slightly disappointed. "Okay."

Artemis scoffed and turned to the Teen Titans, "What about you guys?"

"Sure!" Beast boy grinned. "Where do you want to go?"

"Well," M'gann smiled, "there is a beach outside. Would you like to go?"

"Definitely!"

"Yes please!"

"Sure!"

"Fine."

The teams slowly filed out of the room, but one person lingered behind. Aqualad stared at Robin's back as he was reading through some of the files. The other leader must have read through each file about a thousand times, Aqualad pondered. Why did he keep reading it? Did he think something was going to suddenly jump out after reading it for a thirtieth time?

"Robin?" He asked calmly. "Are you sure you would not like to join us?"

"I'll catch up to you later." Robin waved his hand. "Go have fun with the teams, Aqualad."

He frowned but nodded his head, eventually walking out of the room and towards the exit. Part of him wondered if he should warn Robin about the Justice League members that had arrived at the mountain earlier but thought better of it. Knowing Robin's deduction skills, he probably already figured it out. He sighed. Rob may have had his serious moments, but it was never this intense and never this frequent. Out of all the young heroes, Robin had been an apprentice for the longest time and still retained the majority of his fun loving self. It had been something Aqualad admired about the boy, but now...

How on earth did that childish boy turn into that serious adult?

* * *

Alice: Thanks for reading!

Emily: The next chapter Rob accidentally reveals a little too much information!

Alice: Information on what exactly? You'll have to read the next chapter!

Emily: In the meantime, let me know what you thought of this chapter!

Alice: Once again, thanks for reading!


	7. A Discovery, a Denial, and a Drink

Alice: New chapter! Thanks for being so patient with the updates. School has been crazy!

Emily: Anyway, here's the next chapter! Just a warning, I started really mapping out this story chapter by chapter, and it will be really long and plot heavy.

Alice: But it will also have a lot of RobRae, so that will be good!

Emily: Speaking of… Raven discovers something in this chapter.

Alice: Enjoy!

* * *

 **A Discovery, a Denial, and a Drink**

When the titans first step foot on the beach, they were immediately surprised. They had expected scenery that closely matched their own home considering the Titans Tower was also surrounded by water. They did not expect an actual, sandy beach that someone could swim in. While the Titans Tower was technically surrounded by water, the ground was extremely rocky, and there was a lack of sand. It made swimming it in both dangerous and underwhelming.

"This is awesome!" Beast boy beamed. "I'll bet you could actually play volleyball on the beach here!"

"We have," Rob smirked in amusement.

"Awesome!" Beast boy whispered enviously. "We can only play it on the roof."

Wally snorted and jokingly jabbed Rob in the ribs, "Hey, looks like you still love high places!"

Rob immediately frowned at the comment and shifted his attention to the other team. While part of him didn't want to ruin their exploration of the beach, he still had so many questions that desperately needed answers. Well Black Canary encouraged him to ask as many questions as he wanted, and she always offered great guidance in the past… so he might as well follow her advice.

Making a decision, he promptly sat on the sand, which encouraged the other teams to do the same. None of them had brought their swimsuits, so they could hardly go in the water. Going out on the beach was just their way of being outside and in the sun before winter hit.

"So when you were talking about how Robin would understand Conner's Superman dilemma, you hinting at how he doesn't get along with Batman anymore?" He blurted out.

The titans seemed surprised at his forwardness, and they shifted uncomfortably. "Yes," Starfire admitted rather reluctantly.

"Thought so," Rob sighed. "Does anyone know what happened to make Robin so angry with Batman?"

The team looked around uneasily, as though they were expecting Robin to just pop out of nowhere and yell at them for discussing such a subject. Finally Cyborg sat up straight and answered, "No, we don't. We've never really talked about it with him before."

"Well that's not true," Beast boy commented. "I brought it up once when we first formed the team, and he ended up yelling at me, giving me more training exercises than ever, and refused to talk to me for the rest of the week."

"What?" Artemis and Wally exclaimed at the same time.

"That seems a like a little… much," Aqualad commented in a soft tone.

Beast boy shrugged, "It was when we first met. We have a theory that Batman and Robin got in this giant fight, and Robin quit. He ended up going to Jump City and accidentally forming our team there. I'm pretty sure I asked him about Batman way too soon after the fight, which is why he blew things out of proportion. Ever since, we've just made an unspoken rule that we won't talk about him."

"Yeah and whenever one of the criminals mentions Batman, Robin becomes much harsher on them," Cyborg added. "So even the criminals have learned not to mention Batman around him."

"That sounds very severe," M'gann whispered.

"You think?" Rob snorted humorlessly. It was clear he was very upset by the news. "I really travelled all the way from New Jersey to California because of a fight?"

"All the way across the country," Wally whistled. "Must have been some fight."

At that comment, he received two glares from Rob and Artemis. He raised his hands in defense and mumbled about how no one could take a joke. Artemis rolled her eyes and glanced at Rob, who was hunched over. He appeared so vulnerable, which was a very rare sight for him. Normally he was so enthusiastic… then again, she was hardly one to talk considering her own "daddy issues." She sighed and turned her attention to the future team instead. After all, she shouldn't be obnoxiously staring at the boy who was clearly in shock at his own future. It would add to the stress.

Suddenly Rob stood up a little straighter and gazed at the team once again. "So none of you know what happened?" He clarified, and he directed his stare at Raven. "Not even you?"

At once, all of the titans had expressions of shock. Raven raised her eyebrows. "Me?" she questioned.

"Yeah," Rob shrugged. "Has he told you anything in particular about his fight with Batman?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Rob clearly didn't believe her, and Beast boy cut in, "Why are you asking her?"

"Considering Robin has a huge, obvious crush on her, I'd say he must have talked to her about _some_ personal things," Rob defended only to frown. All of the titans, including Raven herself, had completely flabbergasted expressions. Rob tilted his head to the side, "What?"

"He does not have a crush on Raven!" Beast boy burst out laughing. "That's crazy!"

"Sorry man," Cyborg apologized with a grin. "You got it all wrong."

Starfire's eyes were wide, and she was staring at Raven with an emotion that the dark haired girl couldn't identify. Either way, Starfire never looked at her like that, and it made Raven extremely uncomfortable. It didn't help that she couldn't stop the blush threatening to come on her cheeks.

Rob frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Robin has a crush on Starfire," Beast boy grinned. "It's obvious!"

Starfire whipped her head to look at Beast boy, and she looked so hopeful that Rob almost felt bad for mentioning Robin's crush on Raven in the first place.

"Oh," Rob ran a hand through his messy hair. "Yeah, I guess so."

Raven narrowed her eyes at the action. "Rob," she warned. "What did you mean by that?"

"Nothing!" Rob held up his hands in defense, a movement almost identical to Wally's from a few moments ago. "I guess I just got mixed up, that's all."

"You're lying." She stated confidently. She paused for a moment before adding, "And confused. Robin does not have any sort of romantic feelings for me whatsoever."

Rob slowly lowered his hands and smirked at her. "You sure about that? I saw your little moment on the Bio-ship."

She gaped at him. "What…?"

"And how he listens to you even if he doesn't agree."

She scowled. "I'm not quite sure—"

"Plus he keeps looking at you when you're not looking at him," Rob finished, clearly amused by the situation. The titans stared at him with shock, and four of them abruptly turned to Raven, not trying to mask their amazement. Raven clenched her fists, which filled with sand, and she tried to think of a way to convince the younger Rob that what he was saying was not true.

"He is in love with Starfire," Raven reaffirmed what Beast boy claimed. "That much is obvious."

Rob's expression softened, and he looked almost apologetically at Starfire. "Sorry," he actually did sound sorry. "He looks at her the same way I look at M'gann. It's platonic, and I'm sorry you heard it from me and not from him. I didn't realize you had feelings for him when I made that comment."

Starfire slowly nodded her head, and it looked like she hardly understood what was going on. Beast boy was immediately defensive, "You don't know that!"

"Some things haven't changed," Rob shrugged. "The way I act around a crush is one of them. I guess you guys will find out soon enough what Robin actually feels."

"What he feels," Raven interjected again, "is nothing."

Wally once again butted in with an obnoxious whistling noise. "Dang Rob," he grinned. "You're killing it with the ladies!"

No one looked impressed by his comment.

He innocently shrugged, "What? It's true."

Rob rolled his eyes and playfully smacked the top of Wally's head. Artemis snorted and replied, "Yeah, and he also became a crazy workaholic with no sense of humor. Seriously, what happened their Rob?"

The younger boy kept his eyes pinned on Raven. "I don't know," he answered. "That's what I'm trying to find out."

Raven narrowed her eyes. "I don't know anything. He doesn't talk to me about things like that."

"Then ask him," Rob stated. "He'll answer you."

"I doubt that."

Rob smiled softly. "It'll work. Trust me."

* * *

After the conversation about Robin's feelings, the air around the teams grew incredibly awkward. Starfire appeared to be a mixture of heartbroken and confused, and Raven refused to further the talk about the possibility of Robin having romantic feelings towards her. Cyborg and Beast boy were simply in shock and trying to recall any moments that they may have missed between the possible couple. Rob was lost in his thoughts in regards to what happened with Batman, and the rest of his team was stuck, not knowing what to do in the intense situation. Should they comfort Starfire? Press Raven for more information? Comfort Rob?

They were clueless, so when Aqualad offered to go back inside, everyone nearly jumped on the chance.

The walk back was silent, and many of the teenagers were lost in their own thoughts until they made it back inside where they saw Robin sitting on the floor. He moved the coffee table somewhere, and his legs were crossed. His back was hunched over as he stared at the files that were scattered in front of him.

Rob took in the position of Robin's hunched back with his hand holding up his chin and nearly flinched. "What are you looking for?" He asked before he could help himself.

Robin didn't even bother looking up.

Raven frowned. "Robin?" she questioned. "Are you alright?"

The answer was almost immediate. "It doesn't make any sense," he answered without tearing his eyes away from the papers. "The strategies are all Slade, but the methods aren't."

Rob turned and smirked at Raven as though to say 'Told you so!' Raven rolled her eyes at the boy.

Cyborg frowned. "Then maybe it's not Slade."

"It's Slade." Robin confirmed confidently, not noticing a few of the Justice Members walking in the room.

Cyborg scowled, also unaware of the heroes who just walked in. "Robin, you're obsessed with this guy. Once you hear the word Slade or even suspect it might be Slade, you get crazy. You're obsession has caused you to make bad calls before. How do you know this isn't just another bad call?"

Robin clenched his fists, clearly not appreciating being questioned by his teammate. "I've studied Slade's methods for days on end. I know what he does, and I know how he works. I think I know Slade better than I know the back of my own damn hand. This is definitely Slade. It has his name written all over it! It's just not completely him… but it could account for the fact that we're in the past. A lot can happen in five years, and I guarantee Slade is evolving now to who he is in our time. That's why some of his methods are off. He hasn't perfected them yet."

"How are some of his methods off?" Starfire questioned.

"For one, he's working with people," Robin stated. "He rarely does that, but in this timeline, it seems to be his only methodology."

"Work with people?" Raven frowned. "Do you mean—"

"No." He instantly answered like he knew what she was going to say. "I mean groups of people. It's weird because he normally—"

Robin interrupted himself by yawning quite loudly at the end of that statement. As if his yawn had triggered something, he automatically stood up and turned around but froze at the site of Wonder Woman and Batman standing there. How long had they been there? How long were they listening?

No, it didn't matter.

He walked around the couch and past the two Justice League members, disappearing into the kitchen.

Batman frowned at his actions, and his gaze turned to the files scattered everywhere. He walked towards them and looked down, frowning at some of the case files. "You said you only gave Robin a couple files, right?" Batman grunted out.

Wonder Woman scowled. "Yes?"

Batman stood up. "We might want to strengthen our network security for some of our computer documented files."

She blinked. "He hacked us?"

Cyborg gaped, whispering in awe, "He hacked the Justice League?"

Rob turned and smirked at him. "Been doing it since I was nine."

Judging by his expression, Cyborg looked ready to faint at any moment.

"You seem so surprised," a new voice commented, and everyone turned to see Robin standing there with a smirk on his face and a cup of coffee in his hands.

Wonder Woman sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "I thought we'd have you beaten by now."

Robin snorted. "Sorry, I won't go down without a fight."

"I've noticed," she gave him a tiny smile.

Batman, on the other hand, looked less amused. "Are you drinking coffee?" He asked.

Robin frowned, glancing at the warm beverage in his hands to his former mentor. As soon as their eyes met, he scowled automatically. "What does it matter what I drink?" Robin snidely asked.

"You hate coffee." Batman stated. "Yet this is the second time I've seen you drink it."

"Maybe I learned to love it," he retorted.

"Judging by how you cringe whenever you take a sip, I doubt that." Batman argued back, and Robin could hardly counter that.

Robin glanced at the floor, hating to be defeated in an argument with him. "I do hate it, but I need to stay energized," he admitted softly. With that said, he walked to the same space he was before, and he sat down. He immediately started looking over the files but froze when he noticed everyone's eyes were on him. He sighed and looked at Aqualad almost pleadingly. "You sure you don't have any office spaces available?"

The team leader shook his head. "No, I'm sorry."

He sighed. "It's fine."

Going back to his work, he tried to block out everyone staring at him. It worked rather quickly, and he was emerged in the files, trying to discover what on earth Slade was planning.

Wonder Woman watched the scene with a scowl. "Batman," she gritted out. "I need to talk to you. Alone."

Batman turned to her and nodded. Together the two of them walked out of the room, leaving the teenage heroes behind.

"Oh man!" Wally whispered. "Wonder Woman's about to give Batman a whooping!"

"No she's not!" Artemis rolled her eyes.

Aqualad sighed. "It is clear she is angry at him, but I highly doubt she will… give him a 'whooping' as you say."

"No one gives Batman a whooping," Beast boy smiled proudly.

Rob titled his head to the side, a sneaky smile slowly forming on his lips. "Hey M'gann?" He sounded far too innocent. "Maybe we can see what they're talking about? Use a little Martian power to hear what they're saying?"

M'gann appeared almost scandalized. "I thought you guys said not to read the good guys' mind?" She asked, almost stressed out by the question.

"You won't be reading their minds… just listening to the conversation by entering their minds," Rob replied innocently. "Connect us to their minds, so we can see and hear what they see and hear?"

"You really want to spy on Batman and Wonder Woman?" Aqualad raised an eyebrow. "Does that sound like a good idea?"

"You're curious too," Rob shrugged, "and besides, I was trained by one of the best spies. Technically, I took it up from him."

"Spying on Batman and Wonder Woman would be so cool," Beast boy was practically jumping up and down. "I saw we do it!"

"We could get in so much trouble," Cyborg whispered, but it was clear he wanted to listen to the conversation as well.

"It could be interesting," Artemis smirked, and Wally nodded in agreement. They had never seen two league members fight before. Usually it was Batman disappointed with a league member, and he solved it on his own. Now it was a league member upset with Batman! That had never really happened before! And if it did, they never heard of it and never witnessed it. They were curious!

Rob, on the other hand, had a pretty good idea on what they were going to say, but due to the unique situation, he wondered if that would bring a new twist to the age-old argument between Batman and Wonder Woman.

All of the team members turned towards Aqualad and Miss Martian with sparkling, pleading eyes. "Alright!" She gave in. "Let's do it."

She turned towards Kaldur, who sighed. "Fine," he massaged his forehead with his fingers.

The teams promptly walked out of the room, trying to find a secure location where they could spy and not be caught. They were in such a hurry that they didn't notice the other teenager in the room, who lifted his head and stared at them as they all filed out.

A small smirk came onto his lips. "I wonder…" he mumbled to himself.

* * *

Alice: Thanks for reading!

Emily: The plot will begin a little slow, but it will eventually pick up.

Alice: I hope you all liked it!

Emily: Let me know what you thought!

Alice: Preview for the next chapter:

Batman and Wonder Woman decide to talk but about what? The team decides to spy on them and discovers that it might be an invasion of a certain teammate's privacy. This results in more team bonding, and more RobRae shipping from the younger Robin himself!

Emily: Yeah, I've decided I'm going to start doing previews with the chapters since they seem like a lot of fun! Anyways, thanks for reading, and happy holiday's!


	8. Batman vs Wonder Woman

_Here's the new chapter! I know some people were unhappy with my decision to have Rob blurt out Robin's crush on Raven, so I'm going to clear up why he does that in this chapter and my reasons for writing it as well. I thought it was very in character of him considering he is not the best at keeping secrets when it comes to relationships. For example,_

 _When he figured out M'gann and Conner were dating, he immediately told Aqualad and asked if they should tell Wally and Artemis. When Aqualad said no, he immediately backed down._

 _When Wally and Artemis were constantly flirting, he teased them a lot about it ("Get a room you two")._

 _In regards to Artemis's family, he nearly told Aqualad and Wally until Batman stopped him from blurting it out._

 _In the series, he's constantly about to tell secrets until people tell him otherwise. In Young Justice: Invasion, he becomes much better at keeping secrets. That's why I had him blurt out Robin's crush because I thought it was very in character of him. I'm also going to further explain why he thought it was okay in this chapter as well. Anyways, PM me or review if you agree/disagree with my characterization of Rob in regards to that manner. Thanks for your honesty and criticism though!_

 _Anyways, here's the next chapter._

* * *

 **Batman vs. Wonder Woman**

The two teams uncomfortably squeezed in Cyborg, Beast boy, and Robin's room. M'gann ordered them to link hands, and they automatically did. She exhaled, about to connect to Wonder Woman's mind, but briefly hesitated. Starfire instantly noticed and squeezed her hand, offering her a supportive smile. "They will not discover us," she comforted.

"Yeah," Rob agreed. "Wonder Woman definitely wouldn't notice if you went into her mind."

They had agreed on the way to the room that M'gann could only enter Wonder Woman's mind and not Batman's, considering they did not know his secret identity. Wonder Woman, on the other hand, did not hide her secret identity from them, so they would not be unintentionally revealing her secrets. M'gann nodded and closed her eyes, connecting everyone's minds together, so they could all hear and see the same images. Not enough that they could see each other's secrets though. That would be an invasion of privacy.

She started searching the mountain for Wonder Woman's presence, and she was startled when she found it so easily. Perhaps her skills at telepathy have been improving since her uncle's training. He had insisted on helping her control her powers after the Fail Safe incident (a memory which she still tried not to think about).

Finally she dug her way into the super hero's mind, and she was glad that Batman and Wonder Woman were just staring at each other. Clearly they had not missed anything. Unfortunately, they had to wait a couple minutes before the two heroes finally decided to speak.

"Are you happy?" Wonder Woman finally blurted out.

Batman narrowed his eyes. "Of course not."

"Are you sure? I figured you'd be pleased with yourself," She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. The two sized each other up.

"His behavior is startling," he admitted in a monotonous voice. "Clearly something happened that drastically altered his personality. I am trying to find out what, but he has distanced himself from me. It's taking more effort and time than I originally thought."

Wonder Woman scoffed, "For the world's most famous detective, you can be pretty dumb sometimes."

"You have a theory on why he's like this?" Batman asked, crossing his arms. His tone implied that he doubted her reasoning would be accurate, and Wonder Woman clenched her fists.

"You." She stated without hesitation.

"That's not it."

"What else can it be?" Wonder Woman rolled her eyes. "I warned you! I warned you that turning a nine year old boy into a crime fighter would scar him! I told you pushing him too hard would make him resent you. I was right! Batman, look at him!"

When she gestured to the other room where Robin was working, Batman briefly glanced at him. He turned back to Wonder Woman and shook his head. "No. It's something else."

"It's not anything else," her eyes softened, and she stepped towards him. Her eyes drifted to his hand as though she was debating grasping onto it to comfort him, but she chose against it. Instead she shifted her eyes to Batman's and whispered, "He needs help, Batman."

"I'm trying to help him."

Wonder Woman sighed in frustration, "Then try harder."

"I know what you're asking me to do. I won't do it."

"Then congratulations," Wonder Woman replied drily, taking a step away from him. "You've doomed him to a world of pain and sorrow."

Batman narrowed his eyes, "No, _he_ doomed Robin to that. I'm just trying to help him survive in it."

Wonder Woman rolled her eyes; "You can't blame everything that goes wrong in Robin's life on him, Batman. Just like you can't do the same for yourself. Take up some goddamn responsibility for once."

"I did." Batman stated, unfazed by her accusations. "Five years ago."

"That's not enough," Wonder Woman whispered and promptly walked out of the kitchen, clearly tired of the argument. Just as she took one last glance at the empty couch where Robin usually worked, M'gann exited her mind.

The two teams awkwardly glanced at each other and tried not to obnoxiously stare at Rob, who remained rather stoic. Clearly they were expecting more of a screaming match between the two heroes instead of a stiff, cold conversation. Then again, they supposed they should have expected maturity from the Justice League especially from two of its top ranking members. "So," Beast boy awkwardly rubbed his hands together. "Guess we didn't get that whooping we were expecting."

Rob snorted, "Oh we got it alright."

A knock on the door ensured no one would reply to that comment. Some of the team members froze, thinking Batman or Wonder Woman somehow discovered that they were eavesdropping. When the person spoke though, everyone relaxed. "Can I come in?" Robin asked.

"Might as well," Artemis responded.

Robin opened the door and stood there for a moment with a confident smirk on his face. "So…" He tilted his head to the side. "What were they saying about me?"

Wally blinked, hastily standing up and gaping at him. "Wait, you knew we were spying?"

"You weren't exactly quiet when discussing it in front of me," Robin snorted, closing the door behind him. He took in the sight of both teams lazily sitting on the floor in a circle and waited patiently for one of them to start explaining what happened. When no one spoke up, he repeated the question, "So? What did Wonder Woman have to say about me this time?"

Raven raised an eyebrow. "This time?"

Rob spoke up, "She's mad at Batman for hiring us when we were so young and said it was damaging us."

He looked at his older self expectantly, as though he was hoping Robin would confirm or deny the accusation.

Robin just sighed, "Figured. She'll never let that go, will she?"

Rob shook his head, smirking at his older self, "No, she definitely won't."

For a few seconds, it became silent again and the teams were left to glance around again. This time Artemis spoke up, her question directed at Robin, "So aren't you going to go back to work now that you know what they were talking about?"

Robin raised an eyebrow, "I'm not a nonstop worker."

Cyborg snorted, "Could have fooled me."

Robin mockingly glared at him. "I'm not. Even I take breaks."

"Well then come join us!" Starfire clapped her hands together with a bright grin. "We are currently bonding through conversation! It is riveting!"

"Conversation and spying," Artemis smirked.

"Well considering I missed the latter," Robin joked as he walked further into the room as the young heroes started to converse. He immediately sat next to Raven. At that action, Rob smirked at Raven, who was sitting across from him. She rolled her eyes in response and shook her head, resulting in Rob chuckling. Since everyone else had started to talk to each other, they missed the encounter between them. Except for one person.

"What was that about?" Robin questioned, referring to the exchange between Raven and Rob.

She shook her head, "Nothing. Have you found any leads yet?"

It was the perfect distraction, and Robin easily fell for it. "Somewhat," he answered and started explaining his research. As Raven listened, adding in a few of her own ideas, Rob watched curiously.

How could none of Robin's teammates notice the romantic feelings between the two of them? Since it was so obvious to Batman and Rob, he just assumed that everyone on the team knew but didn't really speak about it. It was the same with his team in regards to Wally and Artemis. They clearly had feelings for each other, and everyone knew, but no one really spoke about it to them when they were together. Unfortunately, that had not been the case for the Teen Titans. No one had been aware of the romance budding between the two heroes until Rob revealed it to them.

He remembered blurting out Robin's feelings for Raven and blushed in embarrassment. He didn't realize he was revealing such a big secret to the team. Or accidentally breaking Starfire's heart. Honestly, how had he missed the alien girl's crush? Well in his defense, he thought to himself, they never really spoke in front of him, so he didn't detect any romantic feelings from her. Perhaps it was due to her blooming friendship with M'gann, which distracted her from attempting to flirt with Robin. That's why Rob never noticed any lingering feelings.

He sighed and rubbed his forehead. Well, now it was out in the open, so he might as well try and help the two of them. He just couldn't do it in front of Starfire, who he noticed was constantly glancing at Robin and Raven from the corner of her eye as she was talking to M'gann. She never did that before. Then again, she most likely never saw Raven as a rival in Robin's affections before.

What on earth had he started?

"Whatcha thinking about, genius?"

Rob turned his head to the side. Wally was sitting next to him, curiously staring at him. Rob smirked, "Nothing much."

Wally pouted, "Oh come on! I can see the wheels in your head turning. Is it something important?"

Rob shook his head and lowered his voice; "I'll call you about it later, okay?"

Wally's expression morphed into concern. "Is it about what Batman and Wonder Woman were talking about?"

"No," he shook his head. "I've already heard that conversation hundreds of times. It's something else. I'll call you tonight and tell you."

"You got it. Hey, did you hear about _Ninja Zombie's 4_ coming out soon?" Wally changed the subject.

Rob grinned. "Yeah! It's supposed to be the worst of them all!"

"Dude, we have to see it!"

"Definitely!"

It was a welcomed distraction from the stress of the day. Rob lost himself in the conversation with his best friend, and they started animatedly talking about their plans to see the movie together.

* * *

By the time the sun had set, the majority of the heroes had already returned home. Robin was once again offered a room in the Wayne Manor, but he rejected it. Rob wasn't shocked, but he wasn't pleased either. It appeared Batman was the same way, and the two of them began to head home.

As Batman was driving, Rob constantly glanced at the man who raised him. "Hey Bruce?"

"Yes?"

"Do you…" Rob began but trailed off. "Never mind."

"You can tell me," he replied in a soft voice.

Once again, Rob shook his head. "Some other time. I'm a little tired and not in the mood for a heart to heart," Rob joked.

Batman frowned but nodded his head. "Alright. But you promise you will tell me later?"

"Yeah, definitely," Rob promised, hoping he wouldn't have to discuss it with Batman anytime soon.

Well, his wish came true. It would be three years before Rob brought it up with him again.

* * *

 _Thanks for reading! I hope you all liked it. While the plot is really slow now, it will start to get faster in the next one or two chapters. Let me know what you thought, and I hope I properly explained Rob's (and my own) reasoning for blurting out that particular secret. Anyways, here's the preview for the next chapter:_

 _On/before January 8th: Robin and Wally have a serious conversation about the future, and the team is assigned their first mission since this entire fiasco started._

 _Happy New Year! And I hope you all had a great holiday season._


	9. A Mission Assignment

_Here's the next chapter! The plot will start speeding up after their first mission, and this is the chapter when they are assigned said first mission. Thanks for reading and supporting my story. Without further ado, here is the next chapter for Five Years Changed._

* * *

 **A Mission Assignment  
**

Wally West strutted into the cave with a loud, obnoxious yawn. After he finally arrived home, Dick immediately called him, and they spoke for what felt like hours. All of Dick's fears and anxieties came to light, and Wally almost felt overwhelmed just hearing about them. He couldn't imagine actually living with those worries like Dick was. Interacting with the future Robin was strange, and it made him wonder how he ended up in that future. After all, he wasn't on the Teen Titans, and that fact alone concerned him. Why wasn't he on the Teen Titans when he was Dick's best friend? Wouldn't the hero have asked him to join the team?

What if he did and Wally said no? What if Wally changed like Dick did? What if Wally and Dick were no longer friends?

As he continued walking, he paused when he saw Robin sitting on the floor again. His research papers were spread out before him, and there was a cup of coffee next to him. Wally had known of Dick's distaste for coffee, so he shared Bruce's concern when he saw Robin constantly drinking it. What if he became like that girl from _Saved By the Bell_? The one who became addicted to caffeine pills?

Robin shuffled slightly, and Wally froze. He really did not want to deal with Robin's issues, so he started tip toing past the older boy. With Dick, he was always willing to sit down and talk to the smaller boy, but Robin felt like an entirely different person; therefore, he didn't want to make the same sacrifices he would have made for his best friend because, frankly, Robin isn't anything like Dick.

He nearly made it to the kitchen when Robin spoke up, "You know, you were never that great at being quiet."

Wally let out the breath he didn't know he was holding, and his body slumped in defeat only to tense up moments later. "Were? Not am?"

"Don't worry, you're not dead," Robin reassured.

"Okay," Wally nodded, relieved. "What happens to me in… your time?"

Robin shrugged, "You don't really change much. You're fighting crime, and you have your secret life. You went to college, and you got a girlfriend, who you think you might marry. You're happy."

That sounded way too perfect.

"Are you sure?" Wally questioned, walking over and sitting on the couch. Since Robin was on the floor, he had to look down at the older leader. "Nothing terrible happens?"

"Terrible things happen all the time, Wally. I can't promise you that you won't go through some tough times, but you're not miserable." Robin clarified. "You're really happy."

Wally bit his lip and blurted out, "Why am I not on your team?"

Robin bit the inside of his cheek before sighing, "Because I didn't want to put you in that position."

"What do you mean?"

"It's pretty obvious that things with Batman and I didn't end on a positive note," he admitted, clenching his fists at the mention of his old mentor. "He's not my dad though, so it was okay. You, though… Flash is your uncle. I didn't want to put you in a position where you had to pick between me and your family, so I didn't."

Wally's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean Batman isn't your dad? I know he's not biologically related to you, but… damn Dick, he's like your dad! You said he was the closest thing you had to a father."

Robin sighed, "That was before."

"Before what?"

Robin's mouth twitched in a slight frown, and he became silent after that. Wally's eyes softened, and he leaned back on the couch. Clearly Robin didn't trust him with that information, and to Wally, that revealed something critical about their relationship. In the future, Robin and Wally did not tell each other everything. Heck, Robin didn't even think to inform him that he was quitting and forming a new team. While Wally desperately wanted to believe Robin's explanation on why he didn't tell him he was forming a new team, he knew the real reason.

Wally and Dick were not close in the future.

That upset him more than he'd like to admit. "So…" he tried to change the subject, not wanting to think about how he will lose his best friend in less than five years. "Why didn't you just become leader of this team? Instead of forming your own?"

Robin frowned. "It's complicated."

"Come on, dude, it can't be that complicated," Wally faked an encouraging smile. "Just tell me the abridged version!"

"Ok. I was frustrated with the utter lack of independence under the Justice League, so I formed my own team," he stated.

"See that wasn't that complicated," Wally snickered before blinking. "Wait, what do you mean you didn't have any independence? Out of all of us, you had the most independence! Batman even lets you go on patrols on your own! If any of us asked our mentors to go on patrols by ourselves, they'd probably laugh at us."

Robin shrugged, "Your definition of freedom changes as you get older."

"Dude, you're only like two years older than me!"

"Am I? Huh, I thought you were younger."

"Dude!"

"Then again, it could just be your personality."

"Are you calling me immature?"

"Yeah, I am. Took you that long to catch on?"

"Rob!"

"Yes?"

Both boys whirled around to see Rob standing there with a smirk and Batman behind him. Wally gasped, "Rob!"

Rob raised an eyebrow, his eyes glancing from Robin and Wally. "What's going on here?"

"He's just being his annoying self, as usual," Robin smirked, and Wally gaped at him.

"I was not!" Wally sputtered.

Robin laughed, and Wally continued to defend himself on why he wasn't annoying. Rob watched with a small smile while Batman's eyes fell on the papers surrounding Robin.

Sighing, he instead focused on the three teenagers, who were still talking amongst themselves. "There will be a meeting at noon," Batman suddenly announced. "I expect the team to be there."

The three boys became silent, and Rob nodded, "I'll let the team know."

Batman jerked his head in what appeared to be a nod before he walked out of the room. Rob immediately sat next to Wally on the couch, and the two of them began to joke around, not taking any notice to the boy sitting on the floor.

While the two boys were goofing around, Robin's mind wandered to the so-called "meeting" Batman had planned for the team. Clearly it was a mission assignment, and Batman was just trying to subtly exclude him and his team. While part of him wanted to stay in the cave and continue researching Slade, he also knew that the mission presented a possible opportunity to discover more about Slade's plan. It all depended on what the mission would entail. It could be a waste of time or a potential breakthrough.

He knew what he had to do.

* * *

At noon, the team of young heroes stood around as Batman walked into the room. Artemis fidgeted slightly. They were being assigned a mission, and she was hoping it wouldn't be one of the longer ones. Before Batman could speak, the Teen Titans strutted into the room. Robin was, of course, walking in front of anyone. Batman narrowed his eyes, and Artemis gulped as Robin ceased all movement. The two teams were standing together, waiting for the details on what the mission would be. Judging by Batman's expression, the second team was not invited.

"This meeting is exclusive to Aqualad's team," Batman spoke, his voice brimming with anger. Artemis shivered, wondering how on earth anyone could stand having that tone directed at them. It was no secret that Batman was the scariest member of the Justice League, and no one wanted to end up on his bad side.

Well, apparently not Robin.

Robin's expression was blank. "Drop the pretense. This is a mission assignment."

"A mission assignment for Aqualad's team only." Batman responded.

"I don't see why my team can't help. We'll even wear our civvies to avoid confusion," Robin crossed his arms. Artemis gaped at him. Who talked to Batman like that?

"I said no."

Tension rolled off of Robin's shoulders, and his blank stare morphed into what almost appeared to be hatred. No, not hatred, Artemis corrected herself. Anger. And lots of it too. While she wasn't exactly a detective, even she could tell Batman telling him no was triggering an unpleasant memory for him. It looked like he was about to scream, but something stopped him. Or rather someone. If Artemis wasn't watching him so closely, she would have missed it. Robin had quickly looked at Raven, who was watching him intensely, and his head whipped back to Batman.

One look from Raven stopped him from freaking out at Batman.

Maybe Rob was right about that whole "massive crush" thing.

"Look," Robin took a deep breath, "We both know that my team is going to fight with your team either way. It's just a matter of whether you approve or not, so I'd just let us fight. That way you can keep an eye on us. How does that sound?"

Batman gritted his teeth together. "Why do you need to go on this mission so badly?"

"I have a theory I'm working on," he answered easily. "This mission might provide some insight."

"Fine." Batman conceded, "but you have to keep your communications with us open at all times. Do you understand me?"

Artemis guessed Robin was rolling his eyes under the mask. "Fine."

Batman narrowed his eyes.

Robin just smirked in response, "So what's the mission?"

* * *

 _Thanks for reading! Sorry I missed the January 8_ _th_ _mark. There was some technical difficulties (aka my wifi was acting out). Anyways, let me know what you think! Liked it? Hated it? Just let me know!_

 _Before/On January 18_ _th_ _: It is the first mission with the two teams together, and Robin takes charge. He discovers evidence that will change the theory he has been developing since he came to this time._


	10. STARR Labs Part 1

_Here's the next chapter! Sorry I couldn't meet the deadline (again). This time it was that dang snowstorm that knocked out my power. But don't worry! It came back on! So now I can publish the new chapter. After this chapter, the plot starts to speed up. There will be a lot of character focus, plot focus, and RobRae development! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!_

* * *

 **S.T.A.R.R. Labs**

 _Part 1_

Aqualad's body was tense as they approached the large building. While the mission appeared to be a simple, the uneasy feeling in his stomach refused to disappear. Something was going to go wrong on this mission. He could feel it. Without meaning to, he glanced at Robin, who was strutting towards the building without any hesitation. If anything, he walked with determination. Once they finally reached the back of the building, the two teams' started to sneak in.

 _Batman towered above the teams as though he was attempting to regain a sense of authority after Robin blatantly disrespected them. It was working. All of the team members, except for Robin and Rob, took a step back and gulped. Even Rob appeared to be a little uneasy at his mentor's behavior._

 _"Your mission," he stated harshly, "is to sneak into S.T.A.R.R. Labs in Gotham City. Recently the administration has been acting suspicious. Their reports on their spending have not been accurate with what they are studying. We believe they are hiding something, and it is your job to go inside, see what they are doing, and report it back to the League. Remember that this is a covert mission. Do not take any action. Do you understand?"_

 _That question as clearly directed at Robin, and he smirked in response, "Yes. I understand."_

Aqualad highly doubted he understood. Still, as the team leader, it was Aqualad's job to ensure that they stuck to Batman's commands regardless of Robin's own personal feelings on the matter. As the two teams formed a circle, Aqualad immediately started giving out orders, "Alright," he formed a plan in his head. "We need to gather information on what they are researching. Rob, can you gather any blueprints on the building? Try to find out where any important files would be kept?"

"That would be with the lead scientist," Cyborg blurted out, and the teams turned to him. He tightly pressed his lips together and inhaled deeply through his nose before continuing, "All S.T.A.R.R. Labs have one scientist in charge of the entire researching process. They usually deal with the majority of the paperwork, so we should look in their office."

Beast boy beamed, "Cool! How did you know that? Did you used to work at S.T.A.R.R. Labs or something like that?"

Cyborg nodded, his face grim, "Something like that…"

It was quiet for a moment, but Aqualad quickly broke the silence, "Alright. We should sneak in through the ventilation system—"

"No," Robin interrupted. "If I'm right about Slade, then he probably has the ventilation system monitored with motion detectors at the very least. We'll probably need to hack in first before we can sneak in. Cyborg, do you think you can do that?"

"I think so," he nodded. "I should be able to use the Power line Broadband to hack in."

"Do it." Robin commanded, and Cyborg immediately started tapping on the computer system on his arm. Robin turned to the rest of the group. "Beast boy, you're going to morph into a small animal to explore the lab. M'gann, I want you to use camouflage to look around the lab. Make sure you're undetected."

M'gann shifted uncomfortably at being ordered by someone who was not her team leader. Still she nodded her head in agreement.

Robin turned to the rest of the team, "As for you guys, we should split up in the ventilation system, so we can cover more ground. Rob, hack into the system and get the blueprints for the building."

Rob smirked and started tapping away on the technology on his arm. A blue hologram appeared, and he started eagerly typing away on the fake screen. Multiple smirking Rob's with green check mark's appeared, and once the screen was covered in them, it transformed into three-dimensional blueprints. Robin immediately started pointing to the ventilation systems, "Aqualad, Wally, and I will take the first floor and try to find head scientist's office. Cyborg and Rob, you guys look around at what S.T.A.R.R. Lab's is researching. This specific lab is a weapons division, so anything that doesn't fit that category should be marked as suspicious. Raven, Starfire, and Artemis will guard outside of the building. The rendezvous point will be here. Does everyone understand?"

Both teams nodded, and Robin smirked, "Then let's go."

* * *

This whole "connect each other's minds thing" was quite startling to Beast boy. All of a sudden he went from just hearing his own thoughts to every team member's. M'gann had some weird superpower _thing_ that linked their minds together. It reminded him of Raven's powers somewhat although she only used that method once to bring Robin back from his chemically induced madness. He shuddered at the thought.

 _BB? You okay?_ Cyborg asked in his head.

 _Yeah, this mind thing is just weird,_ he answered back.

 _Keep your mind on the mission!_ Robin barked the order. Beast boy rolled his eyes and glanced around the lab. He was in the form of a fly, so most of the scientists did not notice his presence. M'gann was flying with him, but no one could see her either due to her powers.

So far, it did not seem like the scientists were doing anything suspicious. They were mostly working on weapons, which this branch of S.T.A.R.R. Labs was supposed to be working on. He glanced over the many materials, wondering why the League decided to send them here until…

 _Wait! Beast boy, look over to your left!_

Beast boy's eyebrows furrowed at Robin's command but did as he was told. He sharply flew over to his left and lingered over the materials. Suddenly he heard three sharp gasps inside of his head. Rob, Robin, and Cyborg seemed pretty upset by the weapon, but Beast boy had no clue as to why.

 _Those aren't weapons,_ Rob exclaimed. _Those are parts!_

 _Parts?_ Artemis questioned.

 _Robin_ , Cyborg whispered, _those match…_

 _I know._ Robin's voice was grave.

Beast boy groaned. _I don't know tech, guys! What's going on?_

 _Yeah, fill us in!_ Wally agreed.

 _Guys!_ M'gann's sharp voice cut in. _Something's wrong. A man's walking around, but he doesn't look like he belongs here. He's talking to the scientists, and I think they're afraid of him._

An image flashed into all of their minds, and Beast boy nearly gagged. The man was tall with broad shoulders. His arms muscles were prominent due to the outfit he was wearing, which was all black and gray. What stuck out the most to Beast boy was the mask he was wearing. It was half orange and half black, covering one eye completely. Robin was right.

It was Slade.

* * *

Even though he predicted it, he still couldn't help the shock that momentarily stunned him. Slade was here, and it looked as though he was planning something big. Clenching his fists, Robin tried to calm himself down and quell the rising anger in his chest. His heart was thudding in his ears, and his breaths were sharp. It seemed that no matter what he could never escape Slade.

 _We have to report this to the League,_ Aqualad's voice rang in his head.

 _No!_ Robin sharply retorted. _We report this to the League and we lose any chance at figuring out what he's up to._

 _Batman said—_ Aqualad tried to argue.

 _My team isn't under Batman._ Robin spat. _M'gann, follow Slade._

 _A-alright._

Robin closed his eyes and watched through M'gann's perspective how Slade walked around the lab like he owned the place. Whenever he looked directly at a scientist, they immediately looked away with clear fear in their eyes. Finally Slade approached what appeared to be a heavily guarded door. He entered a couple passcodes before the doors opened. He disappeared inside, and M'gann promptly followed him. The inside of the room made Robin clench his fists.

That's what the parts were for.

On a large table connected with various wires, there was a mechanical man with an identical orange and black mask. A Sladebot. It was incomplete, and there was a very large difference between what was lying on that table and what Robin and his team had to face. That meant this was a new territory for Slade. Perhaps this was where he learned how to make the Sladebots?

 _Robin?_ M'gann interrupted his thoughts. _What should I do?_

 _We need to report this to the League_ , Aqualad argued.

Robin ignored him. _Change of plans. M'gann, create a distraction or something that will get everyone out of that room. Once it's evacuated, let Cyborg and Beast boy in. Cyborg, do you think you can analyze the robot?_

 _If it's anything like the past Sladebots, I should be able to,_ he replied without hesitation.

 _What about me?_ Rob asked. _I can help with the robot too._

 _No_ , Robin shook his head. _You need to go to the main security room and find any video footage with Slade in it. Also hack the files and try to see if he uploaded anything on this project. Wally, go with him as backup._

 _Got it._

 _M'gann, Starfire, and Raven, find out why the scientists are working for Slade. If anything happens, protect them. I doubt they're working out of their own free will. Everyone else, stay in the events and keep your eyes open. If anyone needs help, help them._

Aqualad frowned. _What will you do?_

There was no response. Almost like he disappeared.

 _Aw man, I hate it when he does that!_ Wally whined in his head.

 _Either way, follow orders,_ Cyborg demanded. _This might get ugly real fast._

Aqualad pinched the bridge of his nose. What happened to following Batman's orders? He sighed and squatted in a fighting position, waiting for anything to happen. It was too late to try and convince the two teams otherwise, so he might as well follow orders to ensure he wouldn't jeopardize the mission. He just hoped Robin knew what he was doing.

* * *

After giving out the orders, Robin silently hopped out of the vents. He immediately blended in with the darkness, keeping his eyes focused on the door. He was slightly relieved that he was wearing dark civvies today otherwise he would have stuck out. When the large door opened and Slade walked out, Robin gritted his teeth together. Whatever distraction M'gann created, it worked. Slade spoke a few more words to the scientists, who appeared significantly less afraid of him than the others did. Robin would have to look into that later.

Slade soon parted with the group, and Robin immediately followed him. Eventually Slade entered an isolated room. It was most likely the lead scientists' office that Cyborg informed them about earlier. Robin crouched down and waited a couple minutes until Slade walked out again. Once he was out of sight, Robin quickly dashed to the door and started picking at the lock. It was relatively easy to get inside, but Robin doubted Slade didn't put security measures on the door. It would only be a matter of time before Slade showed up, so he would need to act quickly.

Rushing into the room, he stared going through the filing cabinets, looking for anything significant. Much of the papers were of the weapons S.T.A.R.R. Labs made previously and were of no use to him. His eyes roamed the papers until a couple in particular stood out.

It was Wintergreen's handwriting.

He quickly grabbed the files and promptly shut the filing cabinet. Glancing at the number of papers in his head, he quickly concluded that there was a high probability that there were more files scattered around the office. He was about to explore more of the room when he heard the door opening. Whirling around, his entire body tensed when his eyes lay on the black and orange mask. Slade was there.

And by the looks of it, he was not happy.

* * *

 _I hope you all liked the chapter! The next one will have a RobRae moment to make up for the lack of them in this chapter. The plot starts to speed up here! Once again, thanks for reading, and let me know what you thought of it!_

 _For the next chapter: Robin and Slade are face-to-face once again! Only this time Slade does not know Robin. The rest of the teams try to complete their mission, and Raven tries to save Robin._


	11. STARR Labs Part 2

_Here's the new chapter! I promise there is a lot more RobRae in this chapter compared to the previous one (which was close to none). Like I said, this is a very plot heavy story, so sometimes there will be chapters with barely any RobRae, but that doesn't mean the story doesn't deal with their romance! Anyway, here is the chapter. Happy belated Valentine's Day!_

* * *

 **S.T.A.R.R. Labs**

 _Part 2_

The hero and the master villain simply stared at each other for a moment. Robin felt every muscle in his body slowly tense as the large man coldly glared at him. Clearly Slade was not expecting a teenager in a baggy blue t-shirt to interrupt his plans.

Robin's lip curled in a sneer. "Slade," he spat out.

He tilted his head to the side, staring at the young hero curiously, "Do I know you?"

He remained silent, trying to stop his hands from shaking out of fury.

"How do you know me?" He sounded almost amused. Like he thought there was no way some kid in ripped jeans could be a threat to him. If Robin wasn't so furious at the mere sight of Slade, he might have smirked at the advantage that gave him. Instead he held his head up.

"I have my sources," he answered vaguely. Slade continued to stare at him for another moment before his gaze drifted to the files Robin had clutched in his hands. Shifting his body so the files were behind his back, Robin prepared himself for a fight. Slade chuckled, and Robin leered. This Slade knew nothing about him, so he was probably expecting a stupid, vigilante kid who watched too many Batman documentaries. If only Slade knew… "So tell me," Robin smirked, "how did you get a bunch of well-known scientists to work for a criminal like you?"

"That answer should be obvious," Slade's voice was dripping with pride.

Robin's expression morphed into a hate filled glare. "Blackmail," he snarled. Flashes of the probes, the remote, and Slade's cocky grin quickly went through his head, and it took all of Robin's effort to not immediately attack the man.

"It's a pity," Slade sighed. "I do hate killing children."

Robin smirked, "It's a good thing I won't let you kill me then."

* * *

Wally raced down the halls, completely confident that Rob would be able to find his way to the main security room on his own. Throwing the door open, Wally took in the sight of three security guards. They all blinked at his sudden appearance, and Wally immediately took advantage of their surprise, using his momentum to race towards them. Kicking one guard down, he whirled around before punching another one. Before the third one could attach, he was suddenly kicked out of the way by a much younger boy.

Wally beamed, "Took you long enough."

"Says the one with the super speed," Rob smirked, crouching down and tying up the unconscious security guard. He tossed Wally some rope, and the speedster copied his movements with the other two guards. Once they were down, Rob raced to the computers and immediately started hacking.

 _Robin?_ Wally thought in his head. _We are in._

Silence. He expected as much.

"Got it," Rob mumbled to himself, opening a few of the files. He quickly read some of the documents uploaded on the server, but so far nothing was relevant to the robot in the main room. "I don't think he uploaded any of his files."

"Paper trail?" Wally questioned. "Who does that anymore?"

"Apparently this guy," he frowned. "I have to admit, it's pretty smart. Paper is a lot easier to burn than computer files. Going the old fashioned way and writing out the reports… it's clever."

"Don't let Robin hear you say that," Wally scoffed before frowning. "He hasn't responded to the mental link yet."

"He will." Rob waved his hand carelessly. "He knows what he's up against. Slade doesn't."

"What do you mean?"

"Gotham has a lot of Batman fans," he cockily replied. "Which means a lot of people, including kids, like to dress up as heroes, go out and fight crime, and try to impress him. Slade probably thinks Robin is a fanboy who wants to be like Batman."

Wally nodded. "Yeah I guess. I mean, who wouldn't want to be like Batman?"

Rob flinched, his hands pausing over the keyboard for a millisecond before he started typing again. Now was not the time to be thinking of that. Returning to his job assignment, he tired to banish Wally's words from his mind. At least, for the time being.

"If there are no files, what do we do now?" Wally asked, breaking the silence.

"I'm sending the security footage to Batman now," Rob quickly replied. "Once it sends, we should go to the rendezvous point. I have a feeling we're going to get out quickly."

Wally nodded, "Got it. I'll let the rest of the team know."

Rob vaguely nodded before standing up straight and turning towards Wally. "Let's go."

* * *

Cyborg quickly hooked up to the robot, attempting to analyze its layout. Beast boy stood watch, prepared to attack anyone who walked in the room. Robin had stopped replying to the mind link entirely, and it worried him. Still, he couldn't worry about the team leader now, and he was sure Robin could take care of himself. After all, he beat a whole crowd of Sladebots and Cinderblock in attempts to foil Slade's plan.

Still, the only person he seemed incapable of beating was Slade himself.

Beast boy shuddered and glanced towards Cyborg, "Are you almost done?" He was itching to leave this place and meet up with the rest of the team to see if they were okay. He always hated missions where they were required to split up, but he dealt with them. Now, however, he had a bad feeling about this one.

"Yeah," Cyborg nodded when a voice rang through both of their heads.

 _Meet at the rendezvous point in 15!_

It was Wally's voice. A mixture's of "okay's" and "got it's" were the replies, and Beast boy sighed in relief. They were going to go soon. "This is weird," Cyborg mumbled.

Beast boy groaned, turning towards his teammate. "What is?" he whined, itching to leave. If there was an irregularity, it meant they would have to stay longer.

Cyborg shook his head, "Nothing you'd understand. Come on, I have all the information I need."

Beast boy nodded, "Okay, let's go."

The two of them immediately left the room only to pause at the scene they were confronted with. Many of the teammates were still fighting with the security guards while many of the scientists cowered in the corners. Mainly Aqualad, M'gann, and Starfire were trying to evacuate the scientists' from the building while Superboy, Artemis, and Raven were fighting the guards, who were clearly being paid by Slade. Cyborg and Beast boy glanced at each other before rushing into the scene, helping the team take down the guards.

With the extra help, the other three managed to gather the scientists in a more orderly fashion, allowing them to flee from the building. The security guards were also taken down must faster, and soon the majority of them were knocked out. Most of the heroes were panting, and Aqualad stood up straighter, "Okay," he commanded. "Rendezvous point, now."

This time, no one argued back.

* * *

Raven wiped the seat from her forehead, appreciating the cool wind that softly caressed her face. By the time they finished the mission, the sun had set, and the sky was a dark blue color. If everyone had regrouped according to the plan, it might have soothed her a bit. But one person wasn't back yet, and it put her on edge.

The team was currently talking with the scientists, who were confessing how the masked man had threatened each one of them into working for him. Aqualad immediately called the police, so the proper authorities could check any potential injuries or threats. As they were waiting for the police, they also constantly glanced back at the lab, wondering when Robin would make an appearance.

M'gann hugged her chest, "He's not answering the mind link," she mumbled.

"He's alive," Raven reassured her. "I would know if he was dead."

Rob frowned at her. "How?"

"Long story."

Rob nodded and glanced back at the teams, who were distracted with the scientists and with the newly found information. Most likely they were trying to not think about how Robin was still in there. Rob slowly inched towards Raven and whispered, "We need to go in and get him."

Raven tensed, "We have orders—"

"He won't be able to praise us for following orders if he's dead," Rob immediately argued. "You love him, right? So let's save him."

"I don't love him." Raven scowled before biting the inside of her cheek. "But I know what Slade's capable of."

"So?"

Raven nodded her head, "Let's get him."

* * *

Robin was hurled against the desk, causing pain to tingle down his spine. That was going to bruise. Slade began to charge at him, and Robin quickly jumped up, using the desk as support for his body, and kicked the villain in the chest. Slade staggered back, but he managed to grab Robin's foot and swing him against the wall, making him grunt in pain.

He was losing. More so than usual.

Growling, Robin whirled around and launched himself at Slade, attempting to land a punch anywhere on his body. Slade quickly dodged them, but luckily was unable to hurt the boy. Spinning around as he dodged, Slade immediately crouched down and stuck out his leg in attempts to trip him. Robin lost his footing and immediately jumped in a backflip to regain it. As he thrusted his lower body up, he kicked Slade, who was not expecting the boy to have acrobatic training. Slade hit the wall, and Robin smirked, using his slight victory to dash towards Slade and knee him in the gut.

Slade reacted, grabbing the boy's arm and twisting it, so their positions were reversed. He slammed Robin against the wall, twisting his arm behind his back. Pinning Robin's legs with his knees, Slade leaned all of his body weight against him, effectively trapping him. "You," Slade growled out, "are a nuisance."

Robin breathlessly laughed even as his face was being pressed into the concrete. "You have no idea."

Narrowing his eye, Slade stepped back and whirled Robin around, punching him in the chest. He hit the wall again, and bit his tongue as a resort. The familiar taste of cooper swirled in his mouth, and Robin spat it out, glaring heavily at Slade.

In the past, Slade had never been this strong when they were fighting. Besides his time as his apprentice, Slade had never hurt him to this degree. Did that mean that in the future Slade was holding back when he fought him? Robin clenched his fists and screamed, dashing towards Slade with newfound anger.

At the time he did not realize this, but his scream altered two very concerned heroes who were looking for him in that exact moment.

The two continued to fight, each giving and receiving blows meant to harm the other. It was a struggle to not fall over, but Robin was determined to beat Slade once and for all. A new sound filled Robin's hears: the sound of police sirens. Clearly Slade noticed it as well. Slowly the fight began to die down, and the two were left staring at each other from opposite ends of the room. Robin panted, trying to ignore the aches and sharp pains in his body in exchange for staring down at Slade, expressing no fear.

Suddenly the door burst open, revealing Raven and Rob. Robin snarled, "Get out!"

"Robin—" Raven tried.

"Is that your name?" Slade taunted, glancing between Robin and Rob. "Seems quite unoriginal, if you ask me."

"Slade—" Robin began.

"Unfortunately, I seem to have drawn too much attention to myself," Slade continued as though he didn't speak. "I suppose we shall meet again, Robin."

"No—" Robin started angrily. He tried to take a step forward, but his body gave out, causing him to nearly collapse. Slade exited the room in a slow walk, his eyes never leaving Robin until he was out of sight. Raven and Rob didn't even bother trying to stop him and instead ran towards the injured leader.

Raven crouched to his level and placed one hand on Robin's back and another on his chest. "Robin," she said seriously, "we need to get out of here."

"I almost had him!" He snapped.

Raven didn't budge. "No," she stated unapologetically. "You didn't."

Robin's lips parted, shock blooming on his expression. For a few seconds, the only sounds in the room were of Robin's panting. Rob watched the two of them, split between fear at his older self's injuries and admiration at how well Raven handled the angered leader. Slowly Raven helped Robin stand, and the three of them started walking out of the lab. Rob noticed how Robin had a slight limp but tried to hide it.

Eventually the three heroes made it outside. The authorities were talking to the scientists about taking them and their families into protective custody. The rest of the team were waiting by the Bio-ship, and their eyes all widened at the sight of the three of them. They remained silent though as they all walked into the Bio-ship, letting Robin take one of the most comfortable chairs. Starfire immediately dashed to his side, asking if he was okay and pestering him on his physical state.

Rob flinched at the site, now able to see the feelings the girl clearly exhibited for the team leader. He also noticed how uncomfortable Raven looked as Starfire attempted to take care of the leader. Still, when she tried to walk away, Robin's hand immediately snatched her own, almost begging her to stay. She deeply breathed in and remained standing there, regardless of how awkward she felt doing so.

Rob snorted and glanced at his own fingers, playing with a loose thread on his cape. Soon he felt the presence of someone else sitting beside him, and he didn't have to look up to know it was Wally. The red-haired hero sighed, "What did we get ourselves into?"

"I don't know," Rob replied, "but it starts with whoever this Slade guy is."

Wally nodded in agreement. "What are you thinking?"

Rob glanced at Robin, who was slumped over and about to pass out from exhaustion. "I think they're not telling us everything. Something happened between Robin and Slade, and I intend to find out what."

"You might not like those answers," Wally pointed out, concern brimming in his eyes.

"I don't like a lot of things about this situation," Rob retorted. "But I'd rather be knowledgeable than ignorant right now."

Wally nodded, "Okay. How do you suppose we find out the answers?"

"First, we have to get someone important to ask the questions," Rob's voice was filled with determination.

Wally's eyes widened. "You don't mean…?"

"And I don't think Batman will mind asking them," Rob concluded. Wally gulped and stole a glance at Robin, who was miraculously still awake and moving. Dealing with Batman right after being beaten up by this Slade guy? Wally shuddered at the possible outcomes of that situation.

Man, what did they get themselves into?

* * *

 _I hope you all liked the chapter! There's a lot of Rob and Wally friendship in the story, but no Birdflash romance (unlike some of my other stories I've written). Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Thanks for reading!_

 _For the next Chapter: Robin is healing, and Batman confronts him with his actions during the mission. One of the Teen Titans accidentally reveals important information regarding Robin's past. Rob tries to talk to Raven about how he should handle talking to the older Robin._


	12. An Angry Bat and a Defensive Bird

_Here's the new chapter! More about Slade will be revealed to Batman and the younger team. I hope you all like it! Thanks for all of the support for this story! Also, please binge watch Young Justice if you have a Netflix account. If enough people watch it, it might be renewed for a third season! Fingers crossed!_

* * *

 **An Angry Bat and a Defensive Bird**

It was no surprise that some of the Justice League members were waiting for them to return; however, it was the amount of members that surprised them, especially the younger team. Normally it would be one or two members that would criticize them. Now, it was Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Black Canary, Superman, and the Flash standing there, all appearing to be a mixture of anger and concern. Five of the seven original founders were there to scold them… and one of them was Batman. Cyborg shakily held his head high, hoping Robin wouldn't do anything further to anger the members.

Of course, his hopes were entirely unfounded.

Almost immediately walking in, Robin confidently walked past the Justice League members and plopped down in his usual spot by the coffee table. From under his shirt, he pulled out a couple of files that he most likely stole from S.T.A.R.R. labs, and he proceeded to read them without a single care of the trouble he was in.

Cyborg wished he had that state of calmness in that moment.

Aqualad squeezed his eyes shut, knowing Robin's actions would only put the League members in a fouler mood. Still, as team leader, he needed to take responsibility, unlike Robin. "I'm sorry sir," he apologized formally, thankful his own mentor was not present in the room. He did not wish for his king to see him like this. "The mission went wrong. There were complications, and—"

"Don't you have anything to say?" Batman's comment was directed at Robin. Aqualad was being completely ignored. His chest felt a little heavy at the realization, but at the same time, he was glad the League's fury was not directed at him.

Robin turned slightly and raised an eyebrow. "You're welcome."

If Batman's mask was off, his face would have probably been a deep shade of red. "You're welcome?" He hissed.

Robin shrugged, "Slade was manipulating S.T.A.R.R. labs workers to create a specialized weapon for him. We came in, and we stopped him. You're welcome."

"That was not the mission assignment," Batman clenched his fists.

"My team is not under the League," Robin replied easily, not even flinching under Batman's heated glare. "We technically do not have to follow any orders from any of you."

Wonder Woman raised an unimpressed eyebrow, and Batman's body tensed further. Flash gulped and took a few steps back from his fellow teammate. He'd never seen him this angry with Robin before, and it was quite startling. "You endangered the teams, Robin," Black Canary spoke up in a soft voice, clearly hoping for a better reaction from Robin.

Robin shifted his gaze towards her, merely staring at her for a few moments. He appeared to be contemplating what to say and how to say it. Finally, he sighed and said almost guiltily, "I didn't mean for that to happen. I didn't think Slade would come back to his office so soon. Luckily no one got hurt, and it's a mistake I won't make again."

"You're damn right you won't make that mistake again!" Batman cut in, clearly furious. Black Canary nearly pinched the bridge of her nose. It appeared she was almost getting somewhere with him, but with Batman yelling at him, it would only cause his walls to build again. She lost her chance to reach the boy… for now. "And the team may not have gotten hurt, but you clearly did!"

Robin flinched and glanced down at his aching body. Even though his clothes covered the majority of his skin, the giant, fist shaped bruise on his cheek was much harder to hide. "It's not that bad," he shrugged it off, ignoring the pain in his shoulders when he did. Almost like he ignored the pain in his legs when he walked to the couch to sit down.

"Well it could have been worse," Batman practically snarled out. "You faced a criminal mastermind by yourself. You could have been killed!"

"I've fought him hundreds of times in the past," Robin harshly reminded him.

"Yeah but that didn't work out so well for you either…"

Everyone immediately turned towards the source of the sound. It was Cyborg who spoke up, and he jumped a bit at the sudden attention. He had only meant to mumble the comment, but everyone appeared to have heard him. The other two teams were staring at him too, but mostly out of pity that he now had the full attention of an angered Batman and Robin.

"Cyborg," Robin warned.

"I want the details on Slade. Now." Batman stated, looking at both Robin and his team.

"I've told you everything I know," Robin crossed his arms.

"No, you haven't."

Robin narrowed his eyes. "His name is Slade, and he's one of the toughest criminal master mind's we've faced. That's all I have on him. I don't know what else you want."

Wally and Rob glanced at each other, both appearing shocked. As it turns out, they didn't even need to speak to Batman about finding out more information on Slade. He was already on it. Still, they weren't expecting to witness the results first hand.

"Robin, maybe you should write a report for us?" Superman offered, attempting to find some sort of middle ground.

"Why should I? I've already told you everything," he stated defensively.

Suddenly, Batman turned to the Teen Titans, who all flinched at his intense gaze. Even Raven appeared to be intimidated by the man. "What do you know about Slade? Tell me everything," Batman demanded.

Robin shot up, ignoring the pain in his body when he did. "You can't order my team around!" He exclaimed indignantly.

Batman ignored him, merely looking at each Titan in the eye. Slowly, he could see the fear settling in their eyes. One particular titan could not take his glare anymore. Batman narrowed his eyes at the green one, noticing how he appeared to be struggling with keeping his mouth shut. Unable to take the glare of his once hero, Beast boy clenched his fists and shouted, "Robin was Slade's apprentice!"

The room practically froze, all for different reasons.

Beast boy shut his eyes tightly, not wanting to see the betrayed expression he knew would be on Robin's face nor the stunned concern of Batman.

Rob's lips parted in total shock, and he stared at his older self in bewilderment. The League members appeared to be a mix of shock and terror, clearly not expecting that as a response.

Batman was the first to speak.

"Tell me everything," the comment was directed at Robin. It was a cold voice that shook Rob to the core, and it was clearly having a similar effect on Robin. "Do not leave anything out."

Robin crossed his arms, attempting to regain some image of power and confidence, but he was clearly shaken. Whether by Batman's cold voice or Beast boy's betrayal, Rob was not sure. "It wasn't that big of a deal," Robin shrugged. "Slade blackmailed me into being his apprentice for a month or two. I eventually got out. That's it."

"What?" Wonder Woman exclaimed.

"You were with that psycho for two months?!" Flash appeared equally disturbed.

"Where was I during this?" Batman demanded.

Robin crossed his arms, "It's not like I'm your protégé anymore."

"I know that," Batman stated, "but I would have been suspicious if you hadn't called me in a few days!"

Robin flinched, and the room became silent once again. Rob's eyes widened, and the realization hit him hard in the chest.

"But it wasn't suspicious," he whispered. "Because you don't contact him anymore."

Robin sighed, rubbing his temple with his hand. "It's complicated," he mumbled.

"You keep saying that," Rob scoffed, and no one knew what to say after that. Everyone in the room was lost in their own thoughts and interpretations of what Robin's comment meant.

Rob merely glared at the ground. The situation was much worse than he thought. Yes, he knew Robin and Batman had a giant fight that Robin was clearly still angry about. Yes, he knew that fight caused Robin to move all the way across the country. Still, he never thought that it was so terrible Robin ceased all contact with Batman. He figured he at least called him or emailed him to let Batman know he was safe or doing well. He didn't though, which meant that the relationship had completely fallen apart to nothing.

"Robin—" Batman began, but suddenly an alarm went off in the room.

"What on earth—" Superman began, and Wonder Woman quickly rushed to one of the screens, pulling up a live video of Green Arrow and Hawkgirl.

"Hey, we could use a little help over here," Hawkgirl commented harshly, clearly in the middle of a battle as she spoke.

"R-right," Superman stammered, walking up behind Wonder Woman. "How many members do you think you need right now?"

"All the ones you have to spare!" She snapped before her body was thrown to the ground. "Just hurry up!"

The screen was cut into static, and the room once again became tense for a second. Wonder Woman and Superman turned to each other before they nodded. "We need to go," Wonder Woman stated, turning to the rest of the League members, who hesitantly nodded. Family drama or not, they still had a job to do regardless of the terrible timing.

Batman glanced at Robin, who went back to reading the stolen files. He sighed and nodded his head, clearly reluctant to do so. Within the next few seconds, all of the League members began to evacuate the room to go and help Hawkgirl and Green Arrow in their mission.

Before completely walking out of the room, Batman turned to Robin and stated, "We will finish this discussion later."

With that comment hanging in the hair, the League members left. The two teams remained behind, and there was still a tension in the air. M'gann shifted uncomfortable, and she glanced at Starfire, who was staring sadly at Robin. It appeared as though the redhead was about to approach him, but M'gann quickly grabbed her wrist before she could do so. Starfire turned and blinked in confusion, but M'gann just smiled innocently. She did not want to tell the girl that Rob might have some foundation to Robin's feelings for Raven. Instead she just asked, "Want to go to the beach? It's such a sunny day!"

Starfire hesitantly nodded, "Alright," she mumbled.

"Conner?" M'gann asked with a fake smile, and he jerked his head in response. In addition to the horrifying scene with Batman and Robin, he was also clearly tense due to Superman's previous presence in the room. The three of them slowly exited the room, and M'gann kept her grip on Starfire's wrist as both a support and an insurance that she wouldn't turn around to go back to Robin.

"Yeah, you know, I've always wanted to check out some of the games from this time," Cyborg spoke up as well. "Beast boy?"

"Let's go." Beast boy hurriedly nodded. Just like the previous three, they also exited the room in a different direction.

Even Artemis and Aqualad left to "train" in attempts to escape the room. That left Robin, Wally, and Raven, and they quickly wandered into the kitchen where they could still view Robin but were not close to him.

"That was intense," Wally finally blurted out, his body immediately relaxing. "I thought Batman was going to have a stroke or something!"

Rob shook his head, "I don't get it. Why is Robin not contacting him anymore? What happened?"

"You should try asking Robin," Wally offered.

Rob snorted, "So I can get another 'it's complicated' from him?"

Wally opened his mouth to object but realized that it was a common phrase Robin used. "True…"

At that statement, Rob turned to Raven, "How should I talk to him?"

Raven frowned, "What do you mean?"

"How can I get him to take me seriously and actually answer any of my questions? Instead of avoiding the answer?" Rob repeated. "He obviously is comfortable around you, so…"

"He doesn't have a crush on me," Raven rolled her eyes. "You should ask Starfire."

"He does," Rob insisted, "even if you don't think he does, you have to admit he is comfortable around you. Can you just give me some advice? Please?"

Raven sighed, trying to think. Rob clearly had a delusion in his head that Robin felt at ease with her (heck, even had a crush on her), and he was not dropping it. Out of pity, she tried to think of a way to accurately respond to his question. It was difficult because Robin never told her anything of importance…

At that moment, little memories sparked in her mind of Robin revealing seemingly personal information. She never asked him to tell her anything, and she never indicated that she wanted to know… Maybe that was it.

Raven finally answered, "Just… don't push him. He doesn't like it when people question him."

"That's it?" Rob frowned.

"Yeah," Raven shrugged. "I never question him like everyone else does."

Wally sighed, "So the best way to ask him about what happened with Batman is to just not ask him? That's going to be difficult."

"Yeah," Rob mumbled. "Thanks Rae."

She nodded, "You're welcome."

Rob nodded and glanced towards his older self only to blink. Robin was staring right at Raven, and he appeared to be curious at what she was discussing with his younger self. Rob snorted and looked at Raven as well, who didn't seem to notice. He shook his head in bewilderment.

How could she not see what was so obvious?

* * *

 _Thanks for reading! Some pretty intense stuff happened in this chapter, but the next one will be more of filler for the plot. Let me know what you thought about the story!_

 _For the next chapter: Rob is still trying to figure out what happened between Batman and Robin, and he gets some advice from a friend. Robin and Raven discuss the Justice League._


	13. Schooled

_Here's the new chapter! I hope you all enjoy! I know some people have requested that Rob develops a crush on Raven, and while I think that's a great idea, I can't write it into the story (sorry!). There's a theme going on with the Rob-Batman-Robin relationship/parrallelism, and the romances play a big part into their dynamic. I don't want to give anything away, but there's a reason why Rob won't develop a crush on Raven; however, he will develop a deep appreciation for her, and he will grow to really respect her! I just wanted to let you guys know that early on, so you wouldn't expect a Rob crush on Raven. Anyways, onto the story! This one will reveal more as to why Rob won't develop a crush on Raven._

* * *

 **Schooled**

Dick never liked school. As a child, he was always homeschooled by his parents and the rest of the circus, so he never had to deal with popularity or cliques. After Bruce invited him into his home at the young age of eight, he was officially enrolled into a private school, and he discovered two things: he was considered a child prodigy, and the kids despised him. To them, he was a circus freak that Bruce took in to look good for the press. At the time, before he knew Bruce's secret, he believed them. No one liked him and that hasn't changed as he grew up. Yet, for today, he was relieved he was at school instead of the mountain where Robin awaited him, reminding him of his fate.

"Dick?"

He blinked and turned to the girl sitting next to him. "Sorry Barbs," he grinned sheepishly. "Lot on my mind right now."

She raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow in disbelief. "Like what?" she questioned, placing her elbows on top of the table.

Unable to tell her the truth, he began to formulate a lie, "Just about what I'm going to be like after I graduate high school." Well, it wasn't a total lie.

Barbara rolled her eyes and softly smiled at him. "Well I already know," she sat up straight. "You're going to go to a great college that's close by, and you're going to buy a small apartment with your own money from the jobs you're going to work at. It won't be too extravagant, and Bruce will come by every other week to nag you about eating and taking care of yourself. You'll be happy."

Those were things he had previously expected from his future as well. He smiled softly, wishing that he could be content with her statement. Normally he would, but he knew the truth now. None of those statements applied to the type of person he would become, but he tried not to show that disappointment. "Thanks Barbs," he mumbled. "You always know what to say."

She smirked, "Of course I do."

Dick smiled back, examining her as he did. Her bright red hair rested gently on her shoulders, and her blue eyes sparkled brightly with amusement and joy. Her lips were always tilted upwards in a small smirk, and everything about her radiated delight. While she could be blunt, she attempted to be kind with her remarks, and she shared his sense of humor. When he told her about how he invented the term "whelmed," she burst out laughing and began composing new words with him.

She was absolutely nothing like Raven, which added another startling difference between himself and Robin.

"Dick?" Barbara interrupted his thoughts once again. "You zoned out again."

"Sorry," Dick grinned. "This time it's math."

Barbara snorted, "An honorary mathlete struggling with math?"

"No, just thinking of ways to annoy my teacher in class next period," he smirked, and Barbara giggled.

"It's amazing how much he likes you considering how often you mess with him!" She laughed.

"No more than my English teacher…"

The two of them burst out laughing, and Dick slowly forgot about his worries. At least, temporarily forgot about them. Barbara always had a means of doing so…

"Aw, look at the love birds."

That voice snapped him back to reality. Dick sighed and glanced up to see Artemis staring down at them with a smirk. Her blonde hair was still in her usual ponytail, and she still appeared uncomfortable in the uniform. Still, Dick had to give her credit. People immediately took a liking to the "thug" on scholarship that joined the school. Unlike the circus freak taken in by charity…

"Oh shut up Artemis," Barbara rolled her eyes, but her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. "We're not like that."

"For now," Artemis teased, focusing all of her attention on Barbara. Dick snorted to himself but didn't say anything. Part of him worried that Artemis would take one look at him and immediately determine he was Robin, but so far Artemis had no clue. Plus, it helped that Dick terrified her on her first day of school by randomly taking a picture of the two of them together.

He meant it when he said they would laugh about it in the future.

However, future Robin didn't seem like he was laughing.

"Forever," Barbara corrected as she stood up. She turned to Dick and offered him another bright smile. "I'll see you later, Dick. Can you hang out tonight?"

"No sorry," Dick shook his head. "Bruce is grounding me for falling out of another tree."

Barbara gaped at him while Artemis just rolled her eyes. "Again?" She exclaimed. "Really?"

"You know me," Dick beamed. Actually, he was on patrol tonight in Gotham, but he couldn't tell Barbara that. Instead, years ago when he first met Barbara, he made up a lie that he had an insistent need to do reckless activities such as climb trees, do acrobatics in random places, and so on. He claimed it reminded him of the circus, which was why he was constantly doing such crazy things. He also pretended that such activities left him injured most of the time (when really the bruises were from criminals beating him) and that Bruce disapproved of his actions and grounded him. It was the perfect excuse for being unable to hang out as well as why he had so many bruises on him.

Two birds, one stone.

"You're crazy," Artemis mumbled under her breath, and Dick merely smirked at her. Barbara sighed, knowing fully well her two best friends would never get along, and just waved goodbye to Dick before running off with Artemis. As they two girls walked away, Dick briefly heard Artemis comment, "I don't get what you see in him."

Dick rolled his eyes, but he ignored the comment. Instead he sighed and went back to eating his lunch.

 _"Robin was Slade's apprentice!"_

Dick shuddered at the thought and placed his sandwich down. No wonder Robin hated Slade so much if he was forced to undergo an apprenticeship with the criminal. And for an entire month! What had happened? How had that happened? Robin mentioned blackmail, but he never specified what type of blackmail. Did Slade know his secret identity and used that to manipulate him?

No, Dick shook his head. Regardless of the tarnished relationship between Robin and Batman, Robin would have contacted Bruce if his secret identity were endangered. The three major rules would always be intact with Dick even if he refused to talk to Bruce: no guns, no killing, and ensure the secret identity remains a secret. If Robin broke any of the three, he would tell Batman.

Dick was almost sure of it.

Sighing, he went back to his lunch. He wasn't sure which disturbed him more: Robin being Slade's apprentice, or Robin not contacting Batman. All of these thoughts clouded his mind, and he was sure it would be a very awkward patrol tonight with Batman considering both of them knew where their relationship was headed: to nothing. He sighed, pulling out his phone and shakily opening a conversation. He should probably talk to her about this…

Twenty seconds after he pressed "send," she texted back:

 _Alright. How does tomorrow morning sound?_

Dick sighed in relief.

Tomorrow morning sounded perfect.

* * *

Raven rubbed her eyes as she opened the fridge. After all of the drama from yesterday, she ended up passing out in her bed the moment her head hit the pillow. She woke up at around noon, which was much later than she usually woke up. Even Starfire had left the room before she did, which had never happened before during this "trip."

Still, she could hardly blame herself. Yesterday was an emotionally intense day for everyone. It certainly did not help that she had to deal with some of the fallout's. Now all she wanted to do was eat and meditate for the rest of the day, hoping no one would bother her. Of course, she spoke too soon.

"Hey," Robin's voice startled her.

Raven glanced at him and nodded. "Hello."

Robin raised an eyebrow, "Did you just wake up?"

"No." She lied. "Did you?"

"I've been up for a bit," he replied vaguely. Raven nodded and turned back to her food. She figured the conversation was over, but Robin clearly thought otherwise. "I saw you talking to Rob yesterday."

She froze up a bit, but immediately relaxed her body. He couldn't have known what they were talking about, and it didn't sound like an accusation. Just curiosity. "I was," she confirmed.

"What do you think?" he smirked, but she could tell there was insecurity behind it.

She shrugged, "I like the current version better."

And it was true. While she liked Rob well enough, he was still far too immature for her tastes. He constantly showed off his skills, joked around during serious moments, and was far too stubborn for the wrong reasons. She preferred Robin, even if he had trust issues and an obsessive element to his personality. He was a leader and someone to look up to, which she greatly admired. To her, that was a quality that Rob had yet to exhibit.

Robin snorted. "Not everyone would agree with you."

"Our team would." She stated confidently.

While he was wearing sunglasses, Raven could tell that his expression just darkened. His hands even clenched, and he practically sneered at the ground. "You sure about that?" he whispered harshly.

She sighed. "It wasn't Beast boy's fault."

His head whipped up, and he started at her with slightly parted lips. Raven sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "You can't expect everyone to be as brave as you. This is our first time meeting Batman, and he's intimidating especially to people like Beast boy. He didn't mean to betray you. Batman just scared him to the point where he couldn't keep it in. Batman has that affect on people."

Robin turned his gaze to the floor, seemingly pondering over her words. After a moment, he sighed, releasing some of the tension in his body. "Yeah I guess," he mumbled. He glanced at her, staring at her almost curiously. "Where did you get your admiration for the Justice League from?"

Raven blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I know you didn't grow up on earth or even on a planet that knows of the Justice League like Starfire and M'gann did. Yet you seem to really admire them. How did that happen?"

Raven stared at him with wide eyes as she tried to formulate the words. She was clearly surprised he noticed such a thing, and she was trying to create a convincing lie. Still, she was much better at purposefully leaving out information than outright lying to her friends. "I—" she began but was interrupted by someone else walking into the kitchen. She sighed in relief and turned to Starfire, M'gann, and Conner.

"My friends!" Starfire beamed, but Raven could tell it was fake. "Are we… interrupting something?"

The way she said that rubbed Raven in the wrong way. It was very implicating and… sad. Even the way Starfire looked at her… there was clearly jealousy behind those light eyes. Starfire had never expressed that emotion towards her in the past even when Robin and Raven were talking by themselves.

She silently cursed Rob for putting such stupid ideas in Starfire's head without any thought to the repercussions.

"No," Raven stated, attempting to convey that there truly was nothing going on. "I was just getting some food."

Robin frowned at her but didn't say anything. Even Starfire appeared doubtful of her words, but she smiled at her nonetheless. "Alright. Would you like us to accompany you as you eat?"

"No thanks," Raven shook her head. "I'm going to meditate."

"May I join?" Starfire asked once again.

"I'd rather be alone today, Star. Maybe some other time," Raven said. Normally she wouldn't mind, but she knew Starfire would not want to actually meditate. She would bring up Robin's nonexistent crush on her, and Raven did not want to deal with that today. Not after the intensity of yesterday.

"Alright," Starfire frowned in disappointment. M'gann immediately grasped her hand and squeezed it in comfort. "Robin? Would you like to eat with us?"

"Sorry Star," he apologized, grabbing his mug. "I have to keep researching those files."

"Oh… have you found anything?" Starfire titled her head to the side. To everyone's surprise, he didn't appear to be upset or beaten down. In fact, he appeared almost confident which was rarely an emotion they have seen from him when he researched Slade. That could only mean…

"Not yet, but I will."

Robin was formulating a plan.

* * *

 _Thanks for reading! Like I said, this was more of a transitional chapter with some RobRae romance and some hinted explanation for why I'm not going to write Rob having a one-sided crush on Raven. I already planned out his crush on Barbara (and how it ends up leading to some important parallels later on) before the suggestion that he have a crush on Raven. I'm sorry I can't fit it in, but it was a good idea! But don't worry! Rob and Raven do develop a deep appreciation for each other even if it's not romantic at all (Robin and Raven, however, are a totally different story)._

 _Anyway, here are some hints for the next chapter: Robin assigns a new mission without the Justice League knowing, and the Young Justice team decides to accompany him. The problem? Robin states they need a civilian to help them during this mission. The one and only Richard Grayson._


	14. A Self-Assigned Mission

_Here's a new chapter! I hope everyone likes it even if it's a little short. Also, one review brought up some questions about the timeline and how it would work, but they signed in as a guest, so I was unable to answer your question. Here's the review:_

You do realize that by travelling back to the past, the Titans have unintentionally changed the future as well, right? Have you ever heard of the "Butterfly effect"? When it comes to time travel, the butterfly effect means that even one small thing you do differently in the past can cause big change in the futue. For instance, even a small, seemingly irrelevant thing such as killing an ant or a bug can affect the future immensely. Have you watched Flash Point Paradox? Watch it and you will know what I'm talking about.

 _Sorry I couldn't reply, but I can't reply to guests, so I'll do it here. I did mention something along the lines of the timeline and why it didn't have the "butterfly effect." It's either in chapter 2 or 3 I think. Robin mentions how he has a theory that before they leave they erase the memories of the Justice League and the Young Justice team members (because he explicitly said he doesn't remember a visit from his future self in his childhood). The butterfly affect will become a big deal later on in the story when the Titans actually have to discuss going back home and the consequences of not erasing the memories vs. erasing them (plus how their actions have impacted the future regardless of the changed memories). That'll come later though! Anyways, here's the new chapter!_

* * *

 **A Self-Assigned Mission**

For the first time in what seemed like a long time, the Titans were alone. Well, the majority of them were alone. Robin was nowhere to be seen, which was strange since he usually lingered in his "office." At least, that's what he treated the couple of couches and a table in the living space like. Still, he was not there, so the Titans decided to take up that space in the hopes he wouldn't return for a while. After all, they did not want to be at the receiving end of his lecture, especially Beast boy.

For a while, they just enjoyed the silence and each other's company, as each individual was plagued with their own set of anxieties and fears. The past few days had been a whirlwind of emotion and drama, so it was nice to finally have some peace. Even if they all knew it would not last for long.

The other team, they knew, was in the other room and could walk in at any moment. That deterred them from truly discussing anything of importance just in case they revealed too much information just as Rob walked in. After all, he had already received too much information about his future already.

Surprisingly, it was not Rob who walked in but Robin, and he seemed extremely pleased, which was rare for him.

That couldn't mean anything good.

"Titans," he ordered, and all of his teammates turned to him. "We have a mission."

"What?" Beast boy exclaimed.

"I thought only the Batman assigned us missions?" Starfire tilted her head to the side.

Robin's lip curled in distaste. "No," he stated carefully. "I still assign missions. Last time we just happened to join one of _his_ assignments because it was convenient for us."

"So he doesn't know we're going on a mission?" Cyborg asked skeptically.

"He doesn't have to know," Robin corrected. "We're an independent team, so we can go on any missions we want."

"Aw man!" Beast boy whined. "But we're on break! In the past! Why do we have to go on a stupid mission anyway?"

At that, Robin tensed, and he turned to Beast boy. "You should really not be complaining right now," Robin stated in a cold tone causing Beast boy to tense. Raven sighed, rubbing her forehead with her fingers. Maybe it was too much to expect Robin to outright forgive Beast boy just on her words alone.

"So what's the mission?" Cyborg asked, attempting to take some of the pressure off of Beast boy, who clearly looked uncomfortable and even a little guilty.

"Mission?" A new voice entered the conversation. All of the Titans turned to see the younger team standing there, each holding some sort of food or beverage. Clearly they came into the room to relax with the Titans and were not expecting those words to come out of Robin's mouth. It was Kaldur that spoke, and he seemed displeased. "We do not assign our own missions."

"You don't," Robin agreed. "But we do."

Kaldur frowned. "What do you hope to accomplish by giving yourself your own mission? Anger the Justice League further?"

"No. I plan to catch a dangerous criminal that the Justice League knows nothing about and hasn't been doing anything about," Robin crossed his arms. "You have to admit they haven't been paying attention to Slade at all."

"We do not know what they have or have not been focusing on," Kaldur argued. "It is not our place to question their authority."

Robin scoffed, "Of course it is. Your team was created just on the basis of questioning their authority."

"That was different. They were hiding secrets from us and treating us like children," Kaldur spoke again in a stern voice. Wally and Rob nodded behind him, but they did not speak up.

"And they still are," Robin countered. "Look, this is a mission I am assigning my team. I'm not asking you to be a part of it, so you don't have to worry about the Justice League getting angry with you. I'll take on that responsibility when that happens, but for now, we have to catch Slade. It's our top priority."

Kaldur and Robin merely stared at each other for a few moments, taking in the seriousness of the other's position. It was clear that Robin was not going to back down, and Kaldur knew there was nothing he could do to stop the team leader. He was determined and angered, which was a lethal combination. He was going to go out in the mission whether Kaldur approved or not. Sighing, he ran his hand through his short hair and nodded. "Fine," he sighed. "Go on your mission, but we are coming with."

Robin frowned. "Excuse me?"

"If this Slade is as bad as you say he is, then you will need help." Kaldur crossed his arms. "We shall come with your team."

"You don't have to," he said.

"We want to," Conner spoke up, stepping forward.

"Yeah, we're willing to help!" M'gann grinned brightly.

"So?" Rob smirked. "Are you going to let us go? Or do we have to fight you on this too?"

Robin turned to his younger self, and Rob was almost sure he would say no. Still, Rob held his ground, trying to display confidence and assurance that his team would be useful during the mission. Robin sighed and nodded his head.

"Fine," he sighed. "You can go."

Rob blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah," Robin said.

"I expected you to say no," Rob confessed.

Robin scowled, "I value free will. You'll come to understand that when you're older."

It was a direct insult against Batman, and it confused Rob more than anything. Sure, Batman was one to say no when it became too dangerous, but Rob always understood that. Still, he thought to himself, Robin did not have a good response when Batman told him not to go on a mission. Maybe that's what the fight stemmed from… but what exactly did Batman say "no" too? And was it truly that important that Robin had to flee to the other side of the country?

"So what's the mission?" Wally asked. Rob shook his head and looked back at the team leader. Right now was not the time to be thinking about such things. Besides, he already had an extensive conversation with her earlier and that was enough emotional, deep thought for the day.

"I've figured out where Slade is," Robin stated.

"What?" Wally gaped.

"When?" Beast boy exclaimed.

"Just from a couple of files?" Artemis asked in disbelief.

Robin shook his head. "The files didn't reveal his location. They were mostly just reports talking about the separate robot parts and how successful they've been. He's trying to create an army."

"An army? Of robots?" Wally whistled.

"In our timeline, he's already succeeded in this," Robin continued. "He created multiple robots that do his dirty work. My guess is he didn't have enough trust to have people working for him or with him."

"But didn't you work for him?" Conner asked. The Titans practically gaped at him, but Conner just crossed his arms in retaliation. He clearly had no fear of Robin's anger like the rest of the team did. Then again, he was a clone of Superman, and he obviously thought he could take down Robin if the other teen decided to attack him out of anger.

Robin nodded, but it was stiff. "He had blackmail, so he knew I would do what he wanted. We didn't need trust at that point."

Rob frowned. At that point? Did that mean Slade was trying to get Robin's trust during the apprenticeship? Judging by the other expressions on the Teen Titans, they did not notice how he chose his words, except for one. Raven also frowned at his comment, and she looked at him rather thoughtfully. It was obvious she was debating whether or not to ask him about that remark later on. Still, it was impressive that she would notice something like that. Then again, she tended to notice a lot of what was going on in Robin's head.

 _Yeah, clearly no romantic feelings there_ , Rob sarcastically thought to himself.

"So he's building a robot army. How does that tell you where he'll go?" Cyborg interrupted Rob's thoughts.

"Simple." Robin smirked. "I just had to think like him. If I was a criminal in Gotham and I was after some of the most advanced technology in our time—"

"How do you know he's in Gotham?" Conner interrupted. "I mean, wouldn't he leave since we got him out of S.T.A.R.R. labs? Start somewhere else?"

"Because Gotham is the city with the highest crime rate in America," he said. "If there's any suspicious activity going on, no one would really pay any attention because they're so used to it. He also doesn't have a habit of moving anywhere once he's settled. Plus, Gotham has one of the largest technological companies in the country."

Rob gasped, and both teams turned to him. "You don't mean…" Rob whispered.

Robin smirked, turning to Artemis, "Hey Artemis, Dick Grayson goes to your school, right?"

"Yeah?" Artemis frowned. "Why?"

"Because we're going to need him for this mission."

* * *

This was a terrible idea. A terrible, awful, horrible idea! Artemis silently cursed Robin throughout the day as she walked through the halls of her school. There was no way Dick Grayson was going to agree to their little "plan," and Robin was being far to optimistic to hope for anything more than a "go away Artemis there is no way I'm letting you take a stranger into my father's precious company." Well, they weren't actually father and son, but still! It was the same concept!

Taking in a deep breath, she walked into homeroom, looking for a specific girl. The only way she was going to get any alone time with Dick was through Barbara. Fortunately, Barbara was one of her best friends, so at least that much worked out with this plan.

Barbara was sitting at her desk, reading a book for her literature class. Artemis sucked in another deep breath and stiffly approached the girl. From the corner of her blue eyes, Barbara noticed her best friend coming towards her and smiled. Artemis shakily smiled back and sat down on the desk in front of her. "Hey," Artemis tried to sound natural.

Barbara raised an eyebrow. "Hey? You okay? You look a little tense…"

That was putting it lightly. Artemis gulped and faked a smile. "Yeah, I'm just… I have a favor to ask you, and it's a little weird."

"How weird?" Barbara tilted her head to the side with a light smirk.

"I… need to talk to Dick. Alone." Artemis emphasized the last part.

Barbara frowned, and Artemis recognized the jealousy that immediately flooded her eyes. "Why? I mean, no offense, but don't you hate him?"

"I don't hate him," Artemis tried to say, but Barbara didn't believe her.

"Yeah you do," she leaned back, crossing her arms almost defensively. "Ever since he took that picture of the two of you together on your first day, you've always thought he was weird. Why do you want to talk to him now?"

Oh God, Barbara thought Artemis was trying to hit on Dick. That was just… no. Besides, he was like thirteen! What was he even doing in high school as a freshman anyway? Sure, she was a first year, but at least she was the age of one! The thought of it was just weird! At least with Barbara the age difference wasn't totally different. Barbara skipped a grade when she was younger, so she was considered slightly young for a freshman (around a year younger than Artemis, actually). Dick on the other hand? He was a year younger than Barbara! And in most of the advanced classes for seniors!

Barbara must have seen the look of outright disgust on her face, and she relaxed. "Seriously, why do you want to talk to him?"

Artemis sighed. She hated lying to her friends, but she didn't really have any other options. "Look, I know you like him," Artemis began. Barbara blushed, but she didn't deny it. "And he obviously likes you."

Barbara scoffed. "No, he doesn't," she mumbled.

Artemis nearly rolled her eyes. It was obvious the two had feelings for each other, which only made her more curious to see how that would turn out. If they did date, did that mean Artemis would have to spend more time with him? Would Barbara spend less time with her? That was definitely a problem with her and M'gann after she started dating Conner. Then again, she felt more betrayed that M'gann never told her more so than how they didn't hang out as much. Barbara would tell her if she started dating Dick, right? Too many questions. She needed to focus on the mission. "He does," she reaffirmed, "and I don't want to be that crazy person that makes you chose between your boyfriend and your best friend. If you guys are going to be dating soon, I need to be able to get along with him. Having a conversation with him would be a good start."

The widest grin appeared on Barbara's face, and Artemis blinked. "Thanks Artemis," Barbara beamed.

"I—" Artemis began, but she couldn't find the words. Did Dick and Artemis getting along really mean that much to Barbara? If so, Artemis almost felt guilty for all the times she instigated fights between herself and Dick. Maybe she really should attempt to be friends with Dick after this…

"I'll let him know you want to talk," Barbara continued, not noticing how awestruck her friend was. "I'll lie about why though for obvious reasons."

"Y-yeah," Artemis nodded. This was going to be difficult…

* * *

She had to wait a total of four periods before Barbara came up to her and said she arranged the "meeting." Of course, she told Dick that Artemis wanted to apologize for all of the fights she started. Artemis nearly protested, but she knew it was for the mission. More importantly, it was for her friend, so she sucked in a deep breath and nodded her head. Sure, she could apologize to Dick before asking him for a huge favor. That wouldn't seem like a fake apology to get in his good graces at all.

She silently cursed Robin again for putting her in this position.

Now she was slowly walking towards one of the lunch tables where Dick was sitting. Normally Barbara would be there as well, but Artemis had asked to speak to him alone. Taking in one last deep breath, she confidently strutted towards Dick. "Hey," she greeted.

Dick raised an eyebrow. "Hey. Barbara told me you wanted to apologize for something? Somehow I doubt that."

 _Brat_. Artemis faked a smile. "Yeah well, I just feel kind of bad for starting all of those fights with you and I—"

"You're a good liar," Dick leaned back in his chair, eyes sparkling with amusement. "But you're not that good. What do you want?"

 _Brat brat brat brat brat brat brat_. "I—" She continued to fake a smile, but she knew she wasn't getting anywhere. Sighing, she relaxed her posture and plopped down next to him. "Yeah, I need a favor."

Dick nodded. "I'm listening."

"I… have this friend," she spoke carefully. "And he is a big tech nerd, and he really admires Wayne Enterprises. It would mean so much to him if he could take a tour of the main building."

"You want me to sneak a total stranger into Bruce's company?" Dick raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, there's no way that's happening."

"Please?" Artemis pleaded. "He won't do anything. He admires that company so much! And he's a total tech nerd!"

"Yeah no."

Artemis groaned. She knew this wasn't going to work! Unless… Dick technically had a huge crush on Barbara, so maybe he would sympathize with her if he could relate to the situation? Flushing, Artemis sighed and repeated in her head that she was doing it for the mission. "Look," she whispered as though she was telling him a huge secret. "I have a big crush on the guy, okay? I really want to impress him, and I think this is how. So please?"

Dick stared at her for a moment, his eyes going wide, and he burst out into a laughing fit. Artemis flushed, trying to resist the urge to just punch this kid. Honestly, why was he laughing at her for having a crush? It was rude! He was rude! Why did Barbara even like him?

"Okay," Dick gasped out as his laughter died down. "Okay, I'll sneak the guy in for you."

She sighed with relief. "Thank you!"

"But!" He grinned evilly. "I have to stay with him at all times."

Artemis blinked. "What?"

"I'm not going to let a stranger wander around, so I'm going to watch him," Dick shrugged. "That's my only condition. If he's such a tech nerd, I don't think he'll mind the ward of the CEO showing him around."

Artemis bit the inside of her cheek. Robin could probably sneak away from the thirteen year old. "Okay," she relented. "Meet me outside of the main entrance at five tonight?"

"That works," Dick nodded with a small smile. "I'll see you there."

"Yeah," she nodded as she stood up.

Phase one completed.

* * *

When Cyborg left the room to admire some of the cave's technological systems, Beast boy immediately relaxed. He put down the video game he was playing and instead grabbed one of the books he kept carefully hidden under the bed. Whenever he felt stressed, he always liked to read about animal physiology and genetics to help him forget about his troubles. It reminded him of his parents, which is why he never told the Titans about his secret hobby. It would lead to them wondering why he liked to read books about science so much, and he didn't have it in him to explain why.

"What are you reading?"

He squeaked and hurriedly shut the book he was reading. "Um nothing!" He hurriedly shoved it under the covers. Judging by the smirk on Robin's face, he already knew what he was reading. Beast boy pouted. Robin really did know everything.

"I'm sure," he sounded amused. Gesturing to the bed across from Beast boy, he asked, "Do you mind if I sit?"

Beast boy frowned. "Um… dude, that's your bed. You can sit on it whenever you want."

Robin appeared a little surprised by the notion that he had a bed (which Beast boy thought was a little strange), and he sat down on the bed. Sighing, he stared at Beast boy for a moment, and he got the sinking feeling that Robin wanted to have a serious conversation. He already knew what it would be able, but he was extremely nervous about it. After all, Robin was very sensitive on all things Batman, and this conversation stemmed from the caped crusader.

"I'm sorry I overreacted with you yesterday," Robin finally admitted. "I shouldn't have snapped at you."

Beast boy's eyebrows rose. He was not expecting an apology… at all. In fact, he was expecting to be the one making the apology. "No it's my fault!" He rushed out, waving his arms almost obnoxiously. "I gave away one of your biggest secrets to you-know-who, and I know how bad things are with that, and I know how bad things were with the apprenticeship… well actually I don't because you never talk about it at all, so I guess that just makes it even worse that Batman knows about it and oh my God I said his name, I'm so sorry I didn't mean—"

"Beast boy!" Robin cut in. "It's fine. You can say his name."

"A-are you sure?" Beast boy questioned nervously.

Robin nodded, clearly unhappy, "I mean, he's here," he sighed. "I can't exactly avoid that, so not saying his name won't do anyone any favors. We might as well deal with it."

 _As one deals with anything excruciatingly painful_ were the words left unsaid, but Beast boy didn't comment on that. Instead he simply nodded and crossed his legs. "Yeah… it's just difficult because he's so scary. I guess he's not scary to you because you know him as something other than Batman?"

Immediately after saying those words, Beast boy shut his mouth again. Why did he have to say that? That was even worse! Plus, he practically hinted that he was curious about Batman's relationship with Robin outside of the mask, which was another giant "do not bring up" in front of Robin! It was another giant rule in the Titan's household. While they never actually spoke it out loud, all of the Titans unanimously agreed to never bring up Batman in front of Robin and to never bring up Robin's mask.

Beast boy just broke one of the big two!

"I mean—" Beast boy started in attempts to defend himself.

"It's fine," Robin interrupted again although he didn't sound completely fine. Still, he kept enough of his feelings hidden that Beast boy couldn't tell exactly what effect his words were having on him. Maybe he should bring in Starfire and have her talk to Robin? She would know what to say!

"I just… I keep putting my foot in my mouth," Beast boy admitted. "I used to really look up to you and Batman when I was a kid. I always thought I'd be like the next sidekick with Batman and you. You guys were my heroes."

"Really?" Robin said, sounding a little doubtful. "Me and Batman? Most people just admire the big Bats."

"Yeah dude!" Beast boy exclaimed. "You were the first sidekick ever! Everyone was freaking out that a little kid could stand beside Batman as his equal and help him take down criminals! Everyone wanted to be you cause you were so cool! I know I wanted to be you!"

"I… I didn't know that," Robin appeared to be struggling with what to say. "I mean, I know you admired me the first day we met, but I just figured you were a huge Batman fan, and you were excited to meet someone who used to work for him. I didn't realize you admired me _that_ much... or for that long."

"I never told you," Beast boy shrugged. "I didn't want to seem like a crazy fanboy like I did that day."

"Yeah that was a little… overbearing," Robin smirked, remembering how Beast boy wouldn't stop following him around and calling him 'sir.' "I don't think I was prepared for any fans."

"I wasn't prepared to see you around either," Beast boy admitted. "Or how you were…"

Robin frowned. "What do you mean?"

Well, Beast boy already blurted out a lot of his inner thoughts to Robin today. Might as well spill them all. "I just… when I was a kid, I always read about how you were really funny and goofy," Beast boy said. "I heard you said a lot of puns and laughed a lot. You were a kid, you know? And I thought that was so cool how happy you were while you were fighting crime and seeing all of this terrible stuff, and I admired that. When we first met, I was shocked at how serious you were. You didn't smile or laugh or crack any jokes. I mean, it's not like you weren't a good person! You were admirable and a leader, but you were serious. It made me think that all of the stories about you weren't true until we came here. Your younger self is…"

"Annoyingly cheerful and optimistic?" Robin supplied.

"Not annoying, but yeah," Beast boy nodded. "He was everything from the stories. What happened to that? What happened to you?"

Robin sighed, staring at the floor with an almost mournful expression. Slowly, he stood up from his bed and walked to the door. For a moment, he lingered at the open space before he said, "I grew up."

With that, he exited the room, leaving a confused teammate to ponder over what was said and, more important, what was left unsaid.

* * *

 _Thanks for reading! This was a filler chapter to prepare for the next one. I tried to make it longer than my usual fillers (actually, this was supposed to be two separate chapters, but I decided to combine them, so this chapter takes place in two days). Let me know what you thought!_

 _ **Next chapter:**_ _It's time to sneak into Wayne Enterprises! Robin meets Dick Grayson for the first time, and they have a conversation about the adults in their life._


	15. Wayne Tech Part 1

_Here's the new chapter! I hope you all enjoy it. Also remember to vote on the poll! It's for AU April, but it's May now, so the name will have to change… either way, I'm going to start writing for whichever story wins after I finish my other story Newspaper club. Make sure to vote for your favorite! Anyway, here is the next chapter! Just a warning, this is one of the longer chapters._

* * *

 **Wayne Tech  
**

 _Part 1_

The plan didn't suck, which was a good thing, Artemis thought to herself. She would simply introduce Robin and Dick before meeting Raven and M'gann at the restaurant across the street. They would remain there in case anything happened that would require backup. Beast boy already snuck in the building as a rat to ensure that immediate backup could be provided in case the three of them didn't reach the building in time. Cyborg was outside, prepared to hack any of the computers and technology. Kaldur, Starfire, Conner, and Wally all remained in the cave in case any Justice League members asked about their whereabouts, and Rob was distracting Batman (because no one could ever truly lie to Batman, and if he asked one of the four about where their team members were, he was bound to figure out what they were actually doing).

All and all, it was a pretty solid plan.

The only issue was all of the "what if" factors that could immediately go wrong.

"Hey."

Artemis blinked and turned to her side to see Robin standing there in his civilian clothes. She nearly smirked at what he was wearing. Normally he dressed like his younger self with tight skinny jeans and a hood. Today he was dressed rather fancily with tight black business pants and a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Most likely to ensure that people would mistake Robin for an intern when he snuck away from Dick.

"Smart move dressing like an intern," Artemis spoke. "Too bad the sunglasses make you look like an idiot."

Robin scowled. "It's not like I could take them off."

 _Artemis, be nice!_ M'gann warned in their heads.

Robin smirked. "Yeah Artemis, be nice."

 _You too Rob_ , M'gann lectured.

Artemis snorted at Robin's stunned expression. Clearly no one but Raven ever bothered to lecture Robin, and she highly doubted Raven ever told Robin to be nice.

 _We'll try mom_ , Artemis teased in her head.

Robin snorted at that before his expression became serious. "There he is," he mumbled, and Artemis turned around. Dick Grayson was walking towards them in his school uniform, which Artemis thought was really weird. The moment Artemis arrived home she changed out of that constricting thing. Dick, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind the itchy, overly fancy uniform. Did he like it? Enough to wear it for three hours even after school ended? He was such a weird kid.

 _That's Dick Grayson?!_ Beast boy practically squealed in excitement. _The Dick Grayson? One of the richest kids on the planet?_

 _Yep, and one of the most annoying kids you will ever meet._ Artemis confirmed. Robin raised an eyebrow beside her, but he didn't say anything. As Dick caught up to them, Robin shifted his stance and offered a polite smile that Dick immediately returned. "Hey, sorry I'm running a little late. Mathlete's practice ended up lasting forever! We have regionals next week, so they've been keeping us really late." Dick sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"It's fine," Artemis shrugged, now understanding why he was wearing his school uniform. Still, being a mathlete wasn't entirely normal either... Heck, it was outright geeky, but Artemis held back on her comments. She did promise Barbara she would try to be nicer to him.

"Mathletes? That's cool. I was one too," Robin smiled making Artemis blink in surprise. Someone as cool as future Robin was on the mathletes? Then again, Robin used to be Rob, and she could clearly picture Rob being a mathlete. Artemis frowned. It was so weird to think of Robin and Rob as the same person considering how different they were...

Dick smirked at him as though it were some kind of joke. "Really?"

 _Were you actually?_ Beast boy questioned.

"Yeah," Robin responded, although Artemis was unsure whom he was responding too. "It was a lot of fun."

"I like your friend already Artemis," Dick grinned at her before turning to Robin. "Dick Grayson, nice to meet you."

Robin held out his hand and shook Dick's. "Pete McGarry, nice to meet you as well."

 _Is that your actual name?_ Beast boy questioned in his head.

 _Yes,_ Robin deadpanned back to him. _I decided to use my real name on a mission._

 _Sorry! Just wondering!_

 _Beast boy_ , Raven snapped, _we're on a mission. Focus!_

 _Sorry Raven!_

 _Thanks Rae._ Robin thought in his head. Artemis stared at him, wondering how he could manage to look so present while communicating with people in his head. It was definitely a skill she was still working on.

"Artemis?" Dick snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah?" She blinked, and Dick smirked at her, clearly thinking the reason she zoned out was due to staring at her "crush." She blushed and tried to play it off, but it was clearly hopeless. Great, now Dick Grayson thought she was some silly romantic girl.

This mission was going to ruin her reputation at school.

"Did you want to tour the building with us?" Dick asked in an amused tone.

Artemis shook her head, having already gone over this with Robin. Apparently a high school girl walking around Wayne Tech with Dick Grayson would draw too much attention, which was the last thing they needed. Since Robin looked older than he was, it would look more natural to see Dick Grayson talking with an intern or something who was supposed to be there. "I have to meet some of my friends," she pointed at the restaurant across the street. "I'll see you at school."

"I'll see you," Dick waved goodbye as she turned around, just making the green light to walk across the street. Dick smiled and turned to Robin, his smirk growing wider. "So, Pete, Artemis tells me you're a big tech nerd."

"I am," Robin agreed.

"Well then it is an honor to show you around Wayne Tech!" Dick beamed. "Come on in!"

"Alright," Robin nodded, looking up at the building that reached the sky. It was clearly one of the nicest buildings in the entire city, and it gave off an aura of importance that Robin always used to admire as a child. He remembered dashing around as a kid in the halls and playing with multiple pieces of tech and how Bruce would eagerly show him all of the skills he knew during his spare time. When Robin's knowledge surpassed his own, Bruce allowed one of the IT men to teach him more and answer his questions. This building held nostalgia and a sense of childhood that had never been ruined before.

And now Slade had invaded it.

Twice.

Robin was not going to let him continue residing in the one thing in his life that managed to touch the sky.

* * *

"So…" Wally coughed clumsily. "What would you guys wanna do?"

Starfire, Conner, Kaldur, and Wally sat on the couches, all facing each other with a table in front of them. Robin had been courteous and cleaned up the majority of his files… or had not wanted anyone to look at them and hid them away. Regardless of why he did it, the heroes could now sit on the couch.

And it was incredibly awkward.

"Oh! We can play a game!" Starfire clapped her hands together with a bright smile. "Or paint our nails!"

Wally blinked. "Um… Starfire, we're guys."

Starfire titled her head to the side. "So?" She questioned. "It is simply putting paint on your nails. What does gender have to do with such a thing?"

Kaldur chuckled as Wally gawked at her, unsure how to explain it.

"Well guys don't do stuff like that," Wally tried to explain.

"Why? It is fun!"

"It's… I don't know!" Wally threw his hands up in frustration.

"Does that mean I can paint your nails?" Starfire edged towards the end of her seat, her eyes sparkling with excitement. Wally flushed and squirmed in his seat as Kaldur and Conner smirked at him.

"You know what? Why not!" Wally signed, promptly giving up. "You remind me too much of M'gann! How can I say no?"

Starfire squealed in excitement, leaping up. "I shall get the polish of nails! You would like red and yellow, yes?"

"Sure…"

"I will be right back!"

As she ran off, the three boys turned to each other. "So while M'gann is out risking her life with this Slade guy, we're going to be painting your nails?" Conner sounded extremely displeased.

Kaldur placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "M'gann is capable of taking care of herself," he stated. "Surely you know that?"

Conner sighed. "I do… I just worry."

Wally nodded. "I know what you mean."

The two boys turned to them, and Conner scowled, "Wally—"

"Not that!" Wally quickly rushed to explain. "I haven't had a real crush on M'gann in ages! I just… I know what it's like to worry about someone."

Conner and Kaldur glanced at each other. "You mean to say… Artemis?" He spoke carefully. The two were unsure where Wally stood in regards to his relationship with Artemis. Both of them clearly had feelings for each other, but neither had admitted it before. Perhaps this was his way of telling them?

Wally flushed. "Well everyone! But yeah… her and Rob I tend to worry about a lot."

"They are also fully capable of taking care of themselves," Kaldur smiled softly. "Especially Rob. He has been a hero longer than any of us."

"I know," Wally whispered, unusually still. "But… you guys don't know him like I know him, so I worry."

"You know his name." Conner stated.

"Yeah."

"He will be fine out there." Kaldur reassured, ignoring the fact that Wally did know far too much about their teammate than what was allowed.

"I know." Wally stated confidently yet there was such a sadness in his eyes. "But it's not what's out there that worries me."

"Then what—" Kaldur began but was promptly interrupted by Starfire flying back in with multiple nail polishes.

"Are you ready?" She smiled brightly, holding up the red and yellow colors.

Wally smiled shakily, holding out his hands. "Sure, let's do this!"

* * *

"And there's the IT department," Dick pointed out, watching carefully as Robin examined every corner of the building with just his eyes. "It's full of tech nerds, so I'm there a lot. I actually used to hang around there when I was little too."

Robin raised an eyebrow, "No kidding," he said, glancing at the giant room. Since the door was made out of glass, it was extremely easy to see inside of the room. The rest of the building, however, had bright white and blue color scheme. The halls were large, and multiple people were walking through them. Robin felt a slight tug at his heart at the familiar sightings, but he tried to will it away. He wasn't here to think about his childhood.

"Yeah!" Dick beamed, bringing Robin back to the conversation. "When I was little, I hated being in that mansion all by myself, so I convinced my butler, Alfred, to let me come to the company where Bruce was. Bruce tried to teach me a lot about tech, but I learned way too fast. He ended up introducing me to a bunch of people in IT, and I ended up learning a lot from them."

 _Nerd_ , Artemis scoffed in his head.

"That's pretty cool," Robin replied, wondering why Dick was telling him information from their past. Clearly Dick had a purpose behind this, but Robin was unsure of what it was.

"Yeah," Dick stared at him. "It was really cool of Bruce to let me do all that when I was little. I definitely owe a lot to him."

 _Is he talking about Bruce Wayne? THE Bruce Wayne? Robin you're so lucky!_ Beast boy practically gushed.

 _Calm down Beast boy_ , Robin replied in his head.

 _Dude!_ Cyborg joined in. _He's right! You're talking to Dick Grayson! Show some excitement!_

 _He's actually really weird and a big nerd!_ Artemis argued back.

 _He's a genius acrobat who is eventually going to inherit Wayne Enterprises! He's cool!_ Cyborg retorted.

 _Guys! Quiet!_ Robin sent a warning into his head before looking back at Dick, who was once again staring at him. "Why do you think you owe him?"

Dick frowned. "What do you mean?"

Robin shrugged. "You just said you owe him a lot. Why do you think that?"

"Think that?" Dick laughed as though it were some kind of joke. "I know that! He took me in when I was little and gave me a home after something terrible happened to me. He raised me like I was his kid, and he helped me become the person I am today. I am extremely grateful to him, and I always will be. He's my hero."

Without realizing it, the two of them stopped walking and were simply staring at each other. Now Robin realized what Dick was attempting to do with his speech. Humorlessly chuckling, Robin stared pitifully at the child before him. "You know, everything seems so easy when you're a kid. The people who raise you are heroes, and the people that bully you are jerks. It's such a simplistic view. Not everything is black and white like that. You'll realize it when you're older that some of the people that you hate aren't all that terrible, and some of the people you admire aren't all that great. He may be your hero now, but he's just a man, and men make mistakes. Some of them are costly. You'll learn that when you get older."

It was dead silence between them. If there wasn't any chatter in the halls, the silence would have been cold and all consuming. Dick was staring at Robin with the most heartbroken eyes that he had ever seen, but he couldn't afford to feel guilty about it. Instead Robin stared right back at him with a cold expression. Whether or not he liked it, it was still the truth, and Dick deserved that much from him.

 _Damn Robin_ , Cyborg mumbled.

 _You shouldn't take your Batman issues out on the poor kid_ , Beast boy quietly agreed.

Robin didn't bother replying. "Can we continue the tour?"

Dick appeared startled by the comment but shakily nodded his head anyway. "Uh yeah… top floor is this way."

Robin followed him to the elevator, repeating to himself over and over again that this was for the best.

Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to truly believe it.

* * *

"Wow, this takes skill!" Wally awed at Starfire's careful precision on the nail polish.

Starfire beamed. "Thank you! I try my best!"

"Do you paint other people's nails a lot?" Kaldur continued the conversation even though he didn't quite care for nail polish.

Starfire shook her head sadly, "No," she smiled sadly. "Robin mostly spends the day researching, so I do not ask him. Beast boy prefers playing video games with Cyborg, and Cyborg… does not have fingernails. Raven also does not enjoy activities like this, so she rarely participates with me in things like nail polish and shopping. She tries, but she can only take so much. I appreciate her trying though."

Kaldur, Conner, and Wally all glanced at each other, surprised she brought up Raven considering the theory that Robin had a crush on her.

"So you and Raven get along really well?" Wally asked.

Starfire nodded, smiling brightly. "We do! It was difficult at first because of how different we are, but we eventually started to get along after we switched bodies!"

The three boys blinked. "Um… what?" Wally gaped at her.

"It is a long story," Starfire flushed. "But after, we began spending more time together! She is now like a sister to me! A true sister who does not sell you into slavery!"

Wally gaped at her again. "What?"

"That is another long story."

"Yeah I figured!" Wally exclaimed.

"Is that how you came to earth?" Kaldur questioned.

Starfire nodded, moving onto Wally's other hand. "It is," she stated. "I ended up going to earth after escaping those who captured me, and I met Robin. I did not speak his language, and in my culture, you kiss someone to learn it. I kissed him and learned multiple languages. Robin… he formed the team in attempts to help me, and we ended up staying together."

"Is that how you developed feelings for him?" Conner questioned. "Because he saved you?"

Starfire shook her head, blushing. "No," she smiled softly. "On my planet, I am both a princess and considered beautiful. Everything I asked for I was given. If I wanted toys, I would receive them within the hour. If I wanted a dress, it would be given. If I needed friends, they would be provided… and yet I was miserable. My parents were distant because they had to rule my planet, so they rarely had time for me. My sister was jealous of me, and so she refused to spend time with me."

"That's harsh," Kaldur mumbled.

"I hate distant parents," Conner stated, his own blue eyes darkening at the statement.

Starfire smiled softly. "It wasn't all bad. I had a… I supposed you could call him a caretaker. He cared for me and loved me like a daughter. In that sense, I felt happy, but there is only so much a caretaker can provide. I did not realize it at the time, but I wanted friends… true friends who were there because they cared for me and not for the money my parents were giving them. I wanted a home where I didn't feel suffocated by the walls around me. Robin… he gave me all of that. He gave me a new home with a new family, and he did it out of care and not material gain. I will be forever grateful for that."

"I understand what you mean," Conner mumbled, a certain softness in his voice that was usually reserved for M'gann. "Not all of it but… I get it."

Starfire giggled. "I know. I can tell you feel the same whenever I see you look at her."

Conner blushed, and Wally snickered. "That's cute!" Wally teased.

Kaldur continued to stare at Starfire, his expression much more serious. "I too have felt that towards someone," he stated in a warning tone. "She ended up picking my best friend over me. Tell me, what would you do if such a thing happened to you?"

Starfire froze, and the smile slowly slipped off her face. She slowly turned to Kaldur, staring at him with lost eyes. "I do not know," Starfire shrugged helplessly. "I truly had never considered it before. No one on our team had."

Kaldur nodded. "I am sorry you had to find out the way you did."

"Do not be." Starfire shook her head. "I would have preferred someone tell me the truth than lie to me. I am grateful Rob told me the truth. I just… I have to take time to figure out how I feel about it."

"I understand." Kaldur reached out and placed a comforting hand on her forearm, careful not to move in case she messed up on the nail polish. "If you need to talk, I will be here."

"Thank you, Aqualad," she smiled softly before turning to Wally. "Now to finish your nail polish!"

"Gee, can't wait!" Wally grinned weakly, unsure of how she could change her mood so quickly.

Well, if she needed to cheer up, Wally supposed he could let her paint his toenails too.

* * *

The rest of the walk between them was spent in absolute silence. Robin supposed he preferred it that way, but he didn't like how he left things off with Dick, who was still visibly upset by his words. Robin sighed. Maybe he should have expressed more sympathy towards him instead of being downright cold. After all, Dick was still only a kid, and Robin remembered how confused he was at that time. Dick was going through a lot at the moment, and Robin should have been more understanding of that considered he lived through it too.

Maybe he should talk to him after the mission was over and no one was listening inside his head…

Suddenly his shoulder crashed into someone else, and both of them backed up. Robin blinked at one of the worker's who appeared almost dazed and unsure of what just happened. "I'm sorry," Robin apologized. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

"Oh!" She seemed to snap back into reality. Still… Robin frowned at the underlying misery in her eyes. That was suspicious. "No it's… it's fine," she tried to fake a smile. "It was me… I've been a little out of it today… I'm sorry."

"No problem," Robin mumbled, staring at her as she walked off.

Dick frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"No she… didn't she seem a little upset to you?" Robin asked.

Dick shrugged. "Not everyone can have a good day."

"Yeah but… I don't know. I have a bad feeling," Robin mumbled, and he started to follow the worker. Dick frowned but followed behind him, looking at some of the employees more carefully now. Robin was as well, and he noticed a strange reoccurring pattern. "A couple of these employees seem to be really upset."

"Yeah," Dick agreed. Sure, it was common for one or two employees to look absolutely miserable, but not this much. Wayne Enterprises, especially in Gotham, was an amazing place to work, and the majority of the people enjoyed it. Robin and Dick knew because they had been exposed to that at a young age. Today, however, more people than usual appeared extremely distraught. Something was wrong.

"Do you mind if I speak to one of them?" Robin asked.

"It's a free country," Dick joked, and Robin immediately took off towards an employee with sandy brown hair and dark bags under his eyes.

Tapping the man's shoulder, Robin jumped back as the man flinched. That was also abnormal. "Hello," Robin smiled politely, and the man tried smiling back. "Sorry, I'm a new intern here."

"Oh it's fine!" The man faked a smile. "What can I do for you?"

"I was just wondering… I mean, I heard rumors," Robin began to fabricate a story.

"Rumors?"

"Yeah. You know what happened in S.T.A.R.R. labs?" Robin whispered. "About how some psycho had taken over without anyone noticing?"

The man gulped, and his hands began to shake. "Y-yeah?"

"Rumor has it that something similar has happened here," Robin watched him carefully. "I just… I want to be careful, you know? I want to get a degree before I die."

He ended the statement with a joke, but the man did not think it was funny. If anything, he paled considerably. Robin frowned, and the man hurriedly looked around before leaning in, "Look kid," he whispered, "I don't know what you heard, but don't tell anyone. Don't tell anyone and get out now. Do you understand?"

Robin frowned. "Why? What's going on?"

The man began to sweat. "I-I can't… it's—"

"I can help," Robin whispered. "Tell me everything, and I _will_ help."

The man stared at him in awe. "How? You're a kid."

Robin shook his head and slowly peeled off his sunglasses enough to expose his mask to the man but not enough that the people around him would notice. The man's eyes widened, and Robin lowered his sunglasses. "Let's just say I know a few people."

"Y-y-y-you're—" The man gasped. "Are you with Batman?"

Robin curled his lip in disgust but nodded anyway. The people of Gotham knew and trusted Batman, so he could let himself be associated with the hero just this once. If only to stop Slade. "I am. Tell me what's going on, and I can help."

The man's eyes watered, and he shook his head sadly. "No one can help me now."

Suddenly the man reached into his pocket and pulled out a remote device. Robin's eyes widened, and he quickly reached out to grab the device. Unfortunately, he was too late, and the man pressed on the large red button. All of a sudden a loud, blaring alarm shattered the pace of the hallway, and red sirens came out to flash blood red against the once white walls.

"No!" Robin shouted, and the man quickly ran off.

 _Robin?_ M'gann panicked. _What happened?_

 _Stick to the plan!_ Robin shouted in his head before promptly turning around and running across the hall, straight past a very confused Dick.

"Shit," Dick cursed under his breath before he whirled around. Before he could run after Robin, a hand suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Dick?! Dick is that you?" An employee, Mr. Hanson, exclaimed. Dick nearly groaned.

"What's going on?" Dick pretended to be panicked. "Where's Bruce?"

Mr. Hanson shook his head. "We have to get you out of here!"

"No!" Dick shouted. "Where's Bruce? I can't lose another parent! Please take me to him!"

Usually the sympathy card worked, but Mr. Hanson was having none of it. Instead he dragged Dick down the halls with the other employees in attempts to evacuate the building. Dick silently cursed his luck that he would run into an employee who knew him. In his head, he prayed that Robin would fix everything. In the meantime, he let himself get dragged out of the building by the very people he was supposed to protect.

* * *

Robin dashed through the building, trying to avoid the people in the building who were running past him to get out. Once again, Robin cursed himself in his head. Why did he think that Slade would have a failsafe just in case someone found him out? He probably gave one of those triggers to every employee that was questioned. Slade always covered all of his bases and yet somehow Robin always ended up thinking he found a loophole.

Now he just needed to find a computer to recover any files that Slade might have stored in the mainframe before they were deleted. Considering how Slade liked to be thorough, there was a large chance those files were programed to delete themselves after a certain amount of time someone rang the alarm.

Normally he would ask Cyborg, but he feared even Cyborg's skills wouldn't be on par with Slade's; however, Robin spent a month with Slade and knew his tech inside and out. He was the only one who could do this.

Suddenly an arm reached out and grabbed his forearm, yanking him back with an unbelievable amount of force. Robin gasped as he was hauled into one of the rooms, and the sound of the door behind slammed rang in Robin's ears. His entire body was forcibly whirled around, and he paled when he came face to face with Bruce Wayne.

And he was not happy.

* * *

 _Thanks for reading! I hope you guys liked the chapter! I know it was a bit on the longer side, so I'm sorry about that. This was actually supposed to be two chapters, but I felt bad because I haven't been updating as much, so I decided to combine the two. I hope you all enjoyed it!_


	16. Wayne Tech Part 2

_Hello everyone! After ending on a cliffhanger, I finally have an update! First, I would like to answer some of the questions that people reviewed! Since they were guests, I cannot reply to them, so I reply here! These were the questions:_

 **Guest Review:** I have a question. How would RobRae happen? Since The young Rob is infatuated/ in love with Barbara, How does this effect the relationship of current Robin and Raven? Is Raven just somewhat a rebound? Would Rob might develop a crush on her or is Robin's feelings really genuine?

 **My Reply:** I cannot tell you exactly how RobRae will happen (as that will be spoiling the story) but I can assure you that it shall happen! Sorry I can't answer the question though, but I promise you will eventually find out. As for the younger Rob, yes he does have a big crush on Barbara. It won't have a big effect on Robin and Raven, but there will be many comparisons between the two relationships. Don't worry, Raven is not a rebound. Rob's crush on Barbara was five years before what is going on between Raven and Robin now. I won't reveal details about how the RobBarb relationship goes (that will also be revealed later in the story), but I can assure you that Robin (the older version) does not have any lingering romantic feelings for her. Rob does not develop a crush on Raven in this story. He admires and deeply respects her, but he does not like her. Thank you for the review, and thank you for reading my story! All of your questions shall be answered later on in the story!

 **Guest Review:** it is just me or does robin sound a little off at times: he stated earlier that he did not remember a visit by a older robin when he was 13 but after his little chat with dick he remembers how confused he was at that time and that he went through the same thing and that he should be more understanding considering he lived through the same thing. During his chat with Dick he states " when you get older you find that some of the people you hate are not that terrible and some of the people you admire are not all that great." Earlier he states that his relationship with Slade "before there was trust" he hates the guy but he acts like he talking about Batman sometimes. But as I said it just me.

 **My Reply:** Yes the older Robin does not remember any visits from his older self when he was 13 (which implies that they will get back home safely and that there will be no butterfly effect). When I said "Robin remembers how confused he was at that time" and that "he went through he same thing," I just meant Rob's general emotional state and not the fact that his older self is visiting. While I haven't gone into it entirely yet, I've laid down some hints that Rob is not entirely emotionally well. Robin remembers going through this emotionally tough time (again, I haven't fully gone into Rob's anxieties yet, but he is facing a lot right now on top of his older self coming to visit). Rob's anxieties and self-doubts will be explored later on in the story though!

The second part is discussing Batman and Slade. I'm actually really glad you picked up on that! There is going to be constant comparisons in this story especially between Rob, Robin, Batman, and Slade. That paragraph was one of the first times Robin was talking about both Batman and Slade. I've outright stated in the story that Robin and Batman had a huge fight, and I've implied that something happened between Slade and Robin where there was an attempt at building trust. This becomes super important later in the story (plus you will find out more about the fight and about the apprenticeship) and in Robin's development at how he sees good and evil.

 _I'm sorry everything is super vague right now! This story is supposed to be long and full of drama! I won't reveal everything in the first twenty chapters, but more hints and revelations will come throughout the story! If any of you have any questions, feel free to review on this story, PM me, or anything! I'll be glad to answer them!_

 _Now on with the story!_

* * *

 **Wayne Tech**

 _Part 2_

Robin stared wide-eyed at enraged Bruce Wayne. His normally handsome features were twisted in an ugly scowl, and the grip on his forearm was tight. Not so tight as to hurt Robin but enough to keep him in his place. His blue eyes were filled with fury, and his normally tan skin was flushed. Robin could only think of one other time he saw his father figure this angry with him, and it resulted in him running away a few hours later.

Well he sure as hell couldn't runaway now.

"What," Bruce hissed out, "is going on?"

The man was practically shaking, and Robin had to force himself not to flinch at that tone. Normally it was reserved for criminals, but now it was directed at him for the second time in his life.

Robin straightened his back, and he met Bruce's angry stare. "Sir," he stated calmly, trying to hint that others were listening through the mental connection. "You need to evacuate now. It's not safe."

"Not safe?!" Bruce exploded. "What do you—"

The doors behind them slammed open, and multiple security guards filled the room. Bruce eyed them wearily, and he slowly released Robin's arm as though giving him subtle permission to take action if necessary. For a moment, the security guards just stared at the two. Bruce inhaled deeply before taking a step forward, "I have things settled here," he stated calmly. "Please evacuate the building. I was told it is not safe in here."

"No," one of the men agreed. "It is not. Come with us, Mr. Wayne. We will bring you to safety."

Bruce smiled with mock politeness. "That won't be necessary, gentlemen."

"I'm sorry," the man took a step forward, not sounding apologetic in the slightest. "But I'm afraid you don't have any choice in the matter."

That spurred Robin into action.

He immediately dashed at one of the guards that spoke and kneed him in the gut. When the guard gasped in pain, his hand loosened on his gun. Robin took that opportunity to rip the weapon out of his hands. With quick motions, Robin spun around, unloading the gun at the same time, before taking the weapon and smashing it over the guard's head.

It was enough to immediately knock him out and to prompt the other guards to move. Still, Robin was faster. He went for the closet guard to him, and he jumped up, kicking the guard in the chest, which caused him to fall to the floor. Landing on his hands, he whirled around and kicked two of the other guards. He quickly flipped back up and ran towards the other guards. "HIDE UNDER THE DESK!" He shouted at Bruce as he began to fight with the other guards.

Bruce, who had been watching Robin's fighting with wide eyes, clenched his fists and backed up, but he made no move to hide under the desk. Instead he scanned the entire fight, and his body was on high alert as if ready to join if necessary. Still, his eyes continually lingered to the object in Robin's hand as a feeling of dread grew in his body.

Suddenly a dark green monkey burst out of the vents and latched itself onto the back of the guard's head. The guard screamed in surprise, and Beast boy quickly turned into a gorilla, effectively pinning the man down underneath him. Two more guards rushed to Beast boy, but he easily knocked them out with two hits. Just as he did so, Robin managed to knock out another guard.

All of the men who tried to attack them lay unconscious in Bruce's office, leaving the two heroes panting.

Beast boy morphed into his human form and stared at the scene before him. "Dude!" He shouted. "What happened? Where's Dick?"

"Dick?" Bruce exclaimed although Robin could tell he already guessed that Dick was a part of this scheme. Still, he had to play the role of a surprised and alarmed parent in front of Beast boy. "What does Dick have to do with this?"

"There's no time to explain," Robin stated harshly. "You have to get out of here now! Beast boy, take him outside."

Beast boy nodded and moved towards Bruce, but the man simply crossed his arms. "No," he narrowed his eyes at Robin. "This is my company. If there's any corruption in it, I need to know."

Robin grinded his teeth together, and his body was practically shaking with anger. Beast boy shifted, awkwardly saying, "Dude, I can't force him out of the building. He's way bigger than me, and I think the police will shoot me if they see a giant green animal carrying Bruce Wayne out of the building."

"And we wouldn't want anyone to get shot now, would we?" Bruce said, and his eyes lingered toward the gun still in Robin's hand. The younger man followed his gaze and scowled, throwing the gun on the ground. Beast boy, who just noticed the gun, stared at Robin with wide eyes. Even Bruce was scowling at him with clear disappointment, and Robin knew Batman would question him later.

"What?" Robin sighed, annoyed. "It's not like I shot anyone! I unloaded it the moment I got it!"

"And where did you learn to unload a gun?" Bruce demanded.

Robin rolled his eyes, "We don't have time for this! Slade could be somewhere in the building, and we have to catch him! Beast boy, if Mr. Wayne doesn't want to leave, then you can come with me."

"Dude this building is huge!" Beast boy protested. "How are we going to find him?"

As if the universe heard Beast boy's shout, one of the men stirred awake, letting out a pained groan. Robin immediately squatted down and watched as the man's eyes fluttered open. When they landed on the teenage boy, the man let out a pained groan. "I'm going to die, aren't I?"

Robin smirked, "You're in luck. I'm not going to kill you."

"You're one of Batman's kids, aren't you? Robin right? Thought he was younger…"

"I'm not with Batman," Robin scowled.

"Could have fooled me…"

"Where's your boss?" Robin skipped right to the interrogation. "Is he in the building?"

"I wouldn't know."

"See, I doubt that," he glared.

The man coughed, spitting out some blood onto the floor before grinning at the child. "Doesn't matter. You won't kill me, but he will. So I'm not gonna answer anything."

"You will," Robin smirked. "Think about this carefully. Slade does not tolerate failure especially by the hands of some teenager. If he gets out of here, the first thing he's going to do is kill you for your incompetence. You tell me where he is, and I'll stop him. The worse that will happen to you is you'll be locked away. Still better than being killed by Slade, right?"

The man visible paled, and his hands started shaking. "He… he's in the research lab on this floor…"

Robin smiled. "Thank you for your cooperation," he said before hitting the man over the head, effectively knocking him out once again. Standing up, he turned to Beast boy and Bruce Wayne. "Beast boy, come with me."

"I'm coming too," Bruce stubbornly stated again.

Robin scowled, but he knew he didn't have time to argue with him. "Fine," he said through gritted teeth. "But don't get in our way."

"Dude, maybe you should be a little politer to one of the richest men in the world," Beast boy grumbled, but Robin ignored him. Instead he promptly walked out of the office room with Bruce Wayne and Beast boy right behind him. Right now, he couldn't worry about them. Instead he had to focus everything on Slade.

This time, he was definitely taking him down.

* * *

"Let me go back in!" Dick shouted again, but his voice was drowned out by multiple other screams. Everyone was crowding around outside of the building, and Dick would have been lost in the sea of people if not for the officer having a tight grip on his arm. After being dragged outside, Dick was handed to a random police officer that claimed they would call Commissioner Gordon for him. Dick tried to convince them that he was fine and to let him go back inside, but they refused to leave him alone. It was extremely frustrating.

As he was being shoved through the crowd, his eyes landed on three girls. Artemis, M'gann, and Raven were all patiently standing in the crowd, their eyes focused on the building. Clearly they were waiting for direct orders to go inside, and Dick envied them for at least being part of the action. He had to stand outside and pretend to be a scared child, which was so unbefitting of him. Suddenly, Raven's body was slightly pushed by one of the bystanders, causing her to stumble for only a moment. Still, it was enough to knock her gaze away from the building and onto Dick. At the very sight of him, her eye's widened, and her lips parted slightly.

Dick gulped and immediately tried to convey a helpless, confused expression that a civilian would normally exhibit in this situation. Still, the shocked expression remained on her face, and Dick could feel his hands shaking.

There was no way, right? Even Artemis had no idea, and she outright spoke to Dick on a daily basis. From this far away, it was impossible for Raven to know…

She must have been shocked that she was seeing Dick Grayson for the first time. That must have been it.

Her stare abruptly snapped away from him, and it was back on the building. The three girls practically disappeared, navigating through the crowd with a sudden sense of urgency. Dick sighed in relief and turned back to the officer, who was trying to lead him to someplace safe. Clearly Robin had ordered the girls to go inside.

As for what happened with Raven, Dick immediately dismissed his anxieties. After all, there was no way Raven could have guessed that he was Rob. He was almost sure of it.

Almost…

* * *

Robin wasted no time. He was in a full out dash to the research lab, and he didn't even bother looking behind him to see if Beast boy or Bruce were following. All that was on his mind was the idea of Slade in the research lab, stealing important information from Bruce. It was almost eerily similar to when Slade ordered him to steal…

Robin shook his head. He couldn't think of that now. Technically, it hasn't even happened yet. But perhaps Robin could prevent it from happening…

If he arrested Slade now, he could save himself from a lot of trouble later on. After all, stopping Slade would not stop in him running away from Bruce, and it would not stop him from forming the Titans and from meeting Raven. It would simply take away a few unfortunate situations he would face later on in his life. There would be no negative impact on his future.

With that in mind, he sped up the pace of his running.

As he whirled around the corner, he came at a dead stop when he caught sight of the man in the mask. Beast boy nearly knocked into him, and Bruce slowed to a graceful stop. His blue eyes went wide at the sight of the villain, but Robin wasn't paying attention to him. Instead his gaze was focused completely on Slade, and his body tensed, preparing for a fight.

Slade seemed almost uncaring. "You again?" He said in a bored tone.

"Me again," Robin retorted.

Slade tilted his head to the side. "How did you know my plan, boy?"

"It wasn't that difficult to figure out," Robin smirked. "You're pretty predictable, Slade."

"Not many people call me that. I tend to go by Deathstroke."

"Real subtle name."

Slade chuckled. "Yes, I suppose so."

Robin narrowed his eyes, "What do you want with Wayne Enterprises?"

"You mean you haven't figured that out yet?" There was an amused gleam in Slade's eye. "I thought you said I was predictable."

Robin growled, and he ran towards the criminal.

Bruce flinched as the two began to fight, and his entire body tensed. Slade was not holding back, and it was already clear to see that Robin was no match for him. Even Bruce himself would struggle fighting with the man. Still, Robin was holding his own extremely well. He avoided many of Slade's hits (but not enough), and he managed to even hit the man a few times (but not enough).

When Slade managed to punch Robin in the gut and throw him against the wall, Bruce took a step forward, his paternal instinct screaming at him to join the fight. Yet a green hand grabbing his wrist stopped him. "Please sir," Beast boy pleaded, "don't fight. You'll only get hurt."

"And why aren't you fighting?" Bruce spat. It was unfair of him to take out his fury on the child, but he was frustrated at having to stand on the sidelines and watch his child get beat.

"I have to protect you," Beast boy answered. "If Slade beats Robin, then I'm backup."

Bruce begrudgingly nodded. Robin must have given that order through the telepathic connection M'gann set up. Still, Bruce gritted his teeth together, he was prepared to jump in the battle if it looked like Robin would be severely hurt. But he wouldn't be doing either of them favors if he joined the battle prematurely and revealed both their secret identities for nothing.

Only for an emergency would Bruce ever reveal his secret identity.

And by the looks of this fight, that day might be today.

* * *

Raven flew through the hallways, practically knocking down anyone in her path. Artemis had lingered behind, choosing to fight the security guards that were clearly working for Slade. M'gann had decided to try to find any bystanders that were trapped in the building, and Raven knew M'gann would be asking them questions as she was helping them out. Raven, on the other hand, was given a very specific task from Robin.

She had to find out when and how Slade got into Wayne Enterprises.

 _Cyborg?_ Raven questioned, hoping any men working for Slade hadn't discovered her teammate. That would just make this task much harder.

 _I'm here, girl._

 _I'm about to go into one of the control rooms now. Start hacking._

 _You got it!_

Raven swiftly landed on her feet and opened the door, scowling to see a few guards already waiting there. Raising her hand, she uttered the chant under her breath resulting in the guards to fly back, hitting the walls and effectively knocking them out. She smirked as she walked over to the computers. Thanks to Cyborg's hacking, she was already logged in. All she had to do was type a few codes to allow Cyborg full access to the computer's contents. Once that was done, she was free to explore any of Wayne Enterprise's files. Scrolling through some of the folders, she tried to find any information that would be of use to Robin.

 _Wait check this guy out,_ Cyborg said, and a computer file suddenly pulled up on her screen. Raven started reading through the file, and it appeared to be an older looking man. He was an employment manager at Wayne Enterprises, and he joined the company a few months ago.

 _What about him?_ Raven questioned, not finding anything suspicious about this man.

 _Do you remember right after the apprenticeship? And how Robin refused to talk about what happened?_ Cyborg began, guilt seeping into his voice. _Well I was really concerned about him, and I tried to hack his computer to find out if he was okay._

 _You WHAT?_ Raven almost gaped, but she managed to keep her composure. If Robin knew Cyborg tried to hack him… well, all of his anger and betrayal from Beast boy's actions would be promptly shifted to Cyborg. Only much, much worse.

 _It didn't work!_ Cyborg immediately defended. _His firewalls were crazy professional! I didn't realize he actually designed the firewalls at the time, or I would have asked him how to show me… that's not the point! Anyway, I was discouraged, so I snuck into his office while he was off doing something to see if I could figure out how he was doing. I found a couple of his Slade files, and I thought he put in details of the apprenticeship or how he was feeling because of it._

 _That's such an invasion of privacy!_ Raven scowled at him.

 _Well it's a good thing I did!_ Cyborg defended. _He didn't have any details about the apprenticeship or how he was handling it, but one of the first files I saw was about this guy._

 _William Wintergreen?_ She read the name.

 _I'm saving any files on this guy and any people that he's hired. He's definitely working for Slade,_ Cyborg stated confidently. Raven nodded and watched as the files began to save onto Cyborg's hard drive from her screen. She got the information she came for. Now she just had to go back to Artemis and M'gann.

And maybe try to find Robin before he did something stupid.

* * *

"Tell me something," Slade asked as he twisted Robin's arm. "Why do you despise me so much?"

"You're a criminal," Robin panted, spinning around and kicking Slade in the stomach, forcing him to let go of his arm. Using that opportunity, Robin dashed towards him and leaped up, kicking Slade's mask and knocking him back a few steps. "That's reason enough."

Slade chuckled when he hit the wall, staring at Robin with newfound interest. "No, child. You _hate_ me, so I must have done something. Did I kill your parents?"

Bruce deeply inhaled a deep breath, and Beast boy frowned at that reaction before understanding dawned on him. He forgot that Bruce's parents were killed at gunpoint in front of him…

"No," Robin clenched his fists. "You didn't."

"A family member? A woman you loved perhaps?" Slade tilted his head to the side.

Robin didn't bother answering. Instead he clenched his fists, and he stepped towards Slade; however, he heard loud steps from behind him. Cursing in his head, he turned around to see more security guards had surrounded them, and they were all pointing guns at Robin, Bruce, and Beast boy. "Too scared to fight me on your own?" Robin challenged, glaring at Slade, who merely placed his hands behind his back.

"You seem to think I have all the free time in the world to be fighting with children. I do not," Slade shrugged. Robin scoffed, thinking to how Slade would soon become obsessed with fighting "children like him."

"Slade—" Robin began.

"The next time the child opens his mouth, kill him." Slade instructed, and Robin froze. Slade meant it, and it would only take a split second for one of his men to shoot him. He clenched his jaw shut, silently fuming at Slade, who was obviously enjoying the situation. Suddenly, Robin felt a grip on his arm, and he was about to lash out before he noticed it was Bruce, who glaring at Slade with such hatred that it shocked him.

"You kill him then you kill me as well," Bruce stated confidently. "And I know for a fact that you don't want me dead. You need me. For what, I'm not sure, but you wouldn't have infiltrated my company otherwise."

Slade remained silent, his gaze shifting from Robin and Bruce. Shrugging, Slade said, "I do not need you, but I would prefer you alive. I suppose I shall let the three of you live."

Without another word, Slade calmly walked past his three hostages, not bothering to look back at them. Once he was out of eyesight, a few of the guards lowered their weapons, knowing fully well they could not kill Bruce Wayne. Robin immediately took that opportunity to attack the guards, and Beast boy followed his lead.

It was pathetic how quick it took the two teenagers to take down the adult guards.

Bruce merely watched, not appearing too worried about the boys. Rather, his mind was clouded with thoughts of Slade. What did he want with his company? What did he steal? How did he get in? What exactly happened between him and Robin during the apprenticeship?

Was he the one who taught Robin how to unload a gun?

"Mr. Wayne sir!" A voice interrupted his thoughts, and Bruce turned to Beast boy. "We have to get you to safety! Please follow us!"

Bruce nodded, offering him a kind smile. "Thank you for saving me and my company."

The green boy flushed, "Y-you're welcome, sir!"

Robin scoffed, and Bruce could tell he was rolling his eyes under the mask. Bruce scowled at his actions, but he knew he could not lecture him here. Nor could he ask the questions he desperately needed answers to. Instead he would have to wait to speak to Robin. He sighed, knowing fully well that getting the truth out of Robin would be a long and difficult process, but he needed answers.

He needed to know what that madman did to his son.

* * *

 _There's the chapter! Thanks for showing support for the story! It really means a lot to me! The next chapter should be up sooner rather than later. My goal is to update it by the end of the week, but I can't guarantee that. Although I will try!_

 _Next chapter: The team assesses the situation, and Batman is not happy with what happened._


	17. Another Almost

_Here is the new chapter for Five Years Changed! It was originally supposed to be two chapters, but I figured I could condense it into one (since I've been so terrible at updating). There's a big RobRae moment at the end to make up for the lack of RobRae in this story (sorry about that! They're the main pairing, but it's a slow build up). Anyways, I hope you all enjoy!_

* * *

 **Another Almost  
**

 _"I wish I was here under better circumstances," Bruce Wayne spoke loudly, his voice filling the space in front of him. His hands were on the podium, and his blue eyes were looking straight into the crowd. His voice was stern and powerful yet filled with remorse. "But, unfortunately, I am not. Like S.T.A.R.R. Labs, Wayne Enterprises has also been infiltrated by criminals who want to use our technology for their own gain. In the past few days, we have managed to go through all of our employees and distinguish who was working for this criminal and who was blackmailed into silence. I am glad to say that Wayne Enterprises no longer has any sign of or source of corruption for now; however, that does not mean that we are safe. We are going to upgrade our security to make sure something like this never happens again. We would also like to encourage other technological companies and labs to do the same. This man will not stop until—"_

Suddenly, the television screen turned black, and the image disappeared. The blank screen reflected their images, exposing their expressions of surprise and relief that Bruce Wayne managed to weed out all criminals in a week. He truly was an impressive man.

Batman, who had turned off the TV with the remote, turned to both teams, who were sitting on the couch. For the past week, they had scarcely seen Batman, but they assumed he was assisting Wayne Enterprises by handling some of the criminals. Now he was back, and he was not pleased. Even Superman appeared to be mildly afraid of the man standing in front of him. He gulped nervously, and it seemed as if he didn't know how to handle the situation but came anyway. Beast boy clenched his shaking fists, hoping it would help to calm him down. It seemed like the long awaited lecture was coming. This time though he was determined to remain silent and keep his loyalty to Robin.

Batman took a deep breath before he stated, "You did a good job."

The young heroes' eyes widened as they stared at him. Robin smirked and leaned back in his couch, looking rather satisfied. Aqualad scowled at his actions and braced himself for the lecture. They would not be forgiven so easily for going behind the League's back regardless of their success.

"However," Batman continued, anger seeping into his voice, "you went on this mission on your own without informing anyone on the Justice League. This team was formed so you could receive missions and not go rogue. Some of you nearly got hurt, and some of you _did_ get hurt!"

At this, Batman specifically looked at Robin, who merely shrugged. When they returned to the mountain, Black Canary practically dragged him to the infirmary and attempted to look at his injuries herself. He continually refused, but she still managed to discover he had a few bruised ribs and that he required rest. Robin nearly laughed and jokingly asked her when she'd ever seen him rest before. It was the first time that night he'd seen Black Canary relax and offer a small smile. He reassured her he wouldn't do too much strenuous activity, and she seemed to be okay with that.

Obviously, she had to report it to Batman regardless of Robin telling her it was unnecessary.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Robin cut in. "We saved Wayne Enterprises."

"You should have gone to the Justice League if you suspected Wayne Enterprises was in danger," Batman glared at him.

"Yeah!" Superman cut in, sounding more betrayed than angered. "We could have helped you!"

"I'm sure," Robin replied sarcastically.

Batman narrowed his eyes, "Are you suggesting that the Justice League, the very people who _trained you_ and helped _raise you_ , are incompetent?"

Robin immediately shot up from his seat, cold fury momentarily blinding him. Until the pain kicked in. Wincing, Robin slowly sat back in his seat, his hand pressing against his bruised rib. "No," Robin grunted out. "Don't twist my words!"

Batman watched him with critical eyes as he held onto his rib. After a few moments, he sighed, "I don't know how else to interpret them, Robin. You assign your own missions to the team even though it is the League's job. You refuse to give us critical information about Slade then get angry at us for not figuring out his plan as fast as you would like us to. You isolate yourself on this couch to look over details of multiple cases but have not told anyone what you're looking for. You lash out against me but have so far refused to tell me what I have done to anger you so much. You may say you don't think we're incompetent, but you still don't trust us. Robin, we need your trust to stop Slade. _I_ need your trust."

Robin clenched his fists, meeting Batman's stare head on. "I gave you my trust. You're the one who threw it away."

With that, he stood up, ignoring the pain shooting up his body from his ribs and walked out of the room. Batman sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Rob's eyes softened as he saw how _tired_ he looked. Superman clearly noticed it too and took a step forward, continuing the lecture on how the team could not assign missions their own missions. Batman remained in the background, clearly thinking over the conversation he just had with his ex-apprentice.

It was a quick, painless lecture. As Superman finished discussing how they should learn to be more respectful of the Justice League, he noticed they all seemed incredibly distracted. He sighed and turned back to Batman, mumbling something inaudible to him. Batman nodded, and the two of them walked out of the room, quietly talking.

That left the two teams in the room.

Aqualad sighed, 'That could have gone better."

"I'm really wishing that they would stop fighting in front of us," Kid Flash commented dryly. "Would make me a lot more comfortable."

"Wally!" Artemis scowled.

"Ditto!" Beast boy exclaimed.

"Robin refuses to be alone in the same room as him," Rob shrugged. "That means whenever they fight they have an audience."

"Great," Conner crossed his arms. "Guess that makes three of us with mentor issues."

"Three?" Starfire questioned.

"Red Arrow," the other team all spoke at the same time.

Starfire nodded, clearly confused by their response. "I see?"

"Maybe..." M'gann spoke up, "maybe they're right. Maybe we should stop with these self-assigned missions."

"Is that really up for us to decide?" Aqualad questioned.

"Well yeah," Conner shrugged. "The next time Robin wants to assign a mission, we can just refuse to go. That will solve everything."

Aqualad shook his head, "Robin will clearly not stop until Slade is caught. I do not see him stopping these missions just because the teams refuse to go on them. He will most likely start going on them alone and not tell us about them."

"No!" Starfire protested. "He would not do that!"

"Why wouldn't he? It seems like something he would do." Artemis said.

"Because he would never betray our trust like that again," Starfire clenched her fists, sadness seeping into her expression. The rest of the team's gaze turned to the ground with different levels of anger, sadness, and betrayal on their faces.

"Starfire?" M'gann questioned, scooting closer to her and softly grasping her hand.

"He would not!" Starfire repeated with just as much force.

"Wow," Artemis raised her eyebrows. "What did he do to you guys?"

"Red X," they all answered together.

Raven sighed, "It's a long story. But he won't go off on his own again without telling us…"

"The problem is we would go with him," Cyborg finished for her. "He's our team leader, and he's done so much for us. We wouldn't abandon him when he needs us."

"Yeah I can see that," Rob smirked, but it was void of any humor. He sighed, glancing to the door where Robin walked out earlier. "Maybe someone should go check on him…"

Starfire nodded, standing up, "I shall go."

"Um…" Rob held his hand out. "I'm sorry but… do you mind if Raven goes instead?"

Starfire's eyes widened, and Raven groaned. "Rob," Raven glared. "For the last time, he does not—"

"I know you think that," Rob interrupted, "but I'm not convinced. Can you just go? For me? Please?"

Raven stared at him for a few moments, trying to decipher what he was thinking. Still, she did not make any movement whatsoever to suggest that she was going to go comfort him. Slowly, Starfire sat down, watching the scene before her. M'gann once again grasped her hand, squeezing it for support.

Raven sighed, "Fine."

Rob smiled softly, "Thanks."

Raven nodded and stood up, leaving the teams behind as she walked out of the room knowing fully well they were all staring at her. Later she would prove to Rob that any romance between her and Robin did not exist. Right now, however, was not the right time.

Besides, she would be lying if she said she wasn't concerned about him.

* * *

Bruce frownd, looking through the files he found at Wayne Enterprises. So far, only he and a select few knew these files even existed, and he intended to keep it that way for a little longer. While he knew Robin would eventually hack into his computer and find them, he wanted to keep them a secret for a little longer. After all, if Robin knew about their existence, he would most likely try to use them to figure out Slade's next move regardless of whether or not he was injured. As Bruce started to read them, he paused for a moment and sighed, "You know, you were never that great at being quiet."

There was a slight pause before an amused voice spoke up, "Nothing gets past you, Bats."

Barry Allen stepped out of the shadows. While he was still in full uniform, his cowl was down, revealing his bright green eyes that looked so much like his nephew's.

Bruce sighed, "What do you want?"

Barry placed his hand on the table, leaning down and grinning brightly, "You know, you'll get back problems if you keep hunching over like that."

Bruce rolled his eyes, sitting up straight and turning to Barry. "Barry," he said with a warning tone.

"Alright, alright!" He sighed. "I'll get to the point!"

Bruce raised an eyebrow, waiting for the man to proceed.

"It's about Dick."

Bruce snorted. "I know."

"I knew you knew," Barry said defensively. "It's hard hiding things from you. Heck, I'm a little impressed that Dick is managing so well with keeping secrets from you."

"He learned from the best," Bruce replied dryly.

"Obviously," Barry smirked. There was a beat of silence as the two simply stared at each other before Barry sighed. "You have to talk to him, Bruce."

Bruce scowled. "I know. I've been trying. He doesn't want to talk to me."

"Then you have to try harder," Barry suggested. "I know you're not used to not being on the same page with him, but you have to adjust. You can't just expect him to suddenly tell you everything like Rob does. He's changed."

"Did you just come here to tell me things I already know?" Bruce questioned, clearly irritated he was receiving parental advice.

"Maybe," Barry shrugged. "Look, I get that you're worried. I am too! I'm worried about Robin's behavior, and… I'm also worried about Wally."

Bruce frowned, "Wally?"

Barry nodded, staring at the wall instead of Bruce. "He's… Dick and Wally have been best friends since we introduced them to each other. You know how inseparable they are. But… Robin hasn't mentioned Wally once. Wally isn't a part of the Teen Titans. That just means that Wally stayed with me but lost his best friend, or… or something else. Either way, Wally loses and… I just don't want him to grow up like that."

"I know," Bruce stood up. "But I don't think he will. Wally won't grow up miserable. He's a smart kid, Barry, and he has his family and friends with him. You don't have to worry."

"I know I shouldn't, but… I thought the same thing about Dick," Barry stated. "Something happened Bruce. Or maybe a few something's. Either way, we have to figure it out, and I think working with Robin to catch Slade will help us."

"No." Bruce said harshly. "Dick will not be going anywhere near Slade! That madman nearly broke his ribs! He trapped him in an apprenticeship! He taught him how to use a gun! He's the reason Dick is acting like this!"

"I know Bruce, but if we work with Robin—"

"HE POINTED A GUN AT HIS HEAD!" Bruce shouted.

Barry took a few steps back, his eyes wide as he stared at Bruce. His fists were clenched, and his eyes held such fury and hatred that Barry had never seen before. He'd never seen Bruce this angry. He'd never even seen Bruce express this much emotion.

Bruce sighed, his body slowly relaxing as his rage morphed into despair. "He pointed a gun at his head and threatened to kill him if he said another word."

"Bruce," Barry whispered, taking a step forward.

"No," Bruce stated, gaining control of his anger. "I am not going to help Robin capture this criminal."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to take down this bastard myself."

* * *

Raven slowly approached Robin, who was staring at the sea below him. Raven scanned the area for a moment, surprised this was even a part of the mountain. It was a small section of the cave that was built like a balcony, and the view was completely stunning. Raven shook her head. Now was not the time to be admiring the view. Taking a deep breath, she approached Robin and sat next to him.

"Hey," he mumbled.

"Hey," she replied.

"What are you doing here?" he sighed, turning to her.

"I'm worried about you." She stated. "We all are."

"Oh," he murmured, turning back to the view of the ocean. She stared at him for a moment, taking in the slight frown on his face. She couldn't see his eyes due to the sunglasses, but she knew they would only be filled with pain. She glanced at his chest and noticed that his seating position catered to his bruised ribs.

She sighed, "Why are you shutting us out again?"

He didn't answer, and she didn't expect him to. Partly because she already knew his answer. He always did this when he was carrying a large amount of stress. It was as though he didn't know how to open up to someone else and let them help carry some of the weight he placed on himself. A trait that, surprisingly, his younger self knew extraordinarily well. Part of her wanted to ask him what happened that made him stop trusting in others. More specifically, what happened with Batman that made him stop trusting in others.

"I wish we never came to this time," Robin spoke, interrupting Raven's thoughts.

She smiled softly, "You're not alone in that. I don't think anyone likes the situation."

Robin snorted and turned back to her, a confident smirk on his face. She smiled. It was a more befitting expression on his face than the one he had moments ago. He let out a loud sigh, leaning back with an amused expression. "So," his voice sounded lighter. "What did the big Bats have to say after I left?"

Raven shrugged, "Nothing important. Superman took over the lecture."

Robin chuckled, "I'm guessing no one paid attention to that?"

"Not really," Raven agreed. "He's not as intimidating."

"No… he's really not," Robin agreed, staring at her for a moment before he asked his next question. "Why are you so scared of Batman?"

Raven raised an eyebrow, "Scared?"

Robin shrugged. "You get really stressed when he lectures us. You seem to have a lot of respect for him. I'm just wondering why?"

Raven frowned, "What are you really trying to ask me Robin?"

"Ever since we came here, you seemed to be really star struck by the Justice League," Robin admitted. "I was wondering why?"

"You tried asking me this before," Raven commented, remembering how Conner and M'gann interrupted them. She had actually forgotten about his question until now.

"Yeah, but it didn't work out, so I'm asking again." Robin playfully nudged her. "Why do you admire them so much?"

Raven stared at him for a few moments. Sighing, she turned to the view of the ocean. "It's a long story."

"I've got time," Robin supplied jokingly.

She snorted. "I suppose you do..." Sighing, she confessed, "It started when I came to earth. I kept seeing news reports about the Justice League, and I got curious. After I did a little research, I discovered there was a whole league of heroes that were dedicated to saving the world I was destined to destroy. When I started reading more about them, I started to respect them… but the one I respected the most was Batman. He was a hero who was always in the shadows and in the darkness… like me. He was the one who inspired me to try being a hero because… if he could be a hero and live in the shadows, then maybe I could too."

She turned to Robin and frowned. He was staring at her with a strange expression that she couldn't read, and it was causing anxiety to bubble in her chest. She wasn't sure why, but she knew she had to change the subject. "I learned about you too," she added. "I immediately thought there was no way I could ever get along with someone like you."

Robin laughed, "I'm sure you did!"

Raven chuckled with him but soon frowned when she noticed Robin wince. He had sat up and was rubbing a spot on his chest. Most likely his rib… Raven frowned, "I could try healing that for you."

Robin turned to her. "You could?"

"I'm not good at healing people, but I could try if it's bothering you?" She offered.

"Yeah, that would be great!" Robin sounded slightly surprised. Most likely because she never offered to heal anyone before.

Raven shifted her body so she was facing him. "You're going to have to take off your shirt so I can see it," she instructed. Nodding, Robin slowly took off his shirt, wincing when he raised his arms over his chest. Once it was off, Raven's eyes widened. She had expected a lean, muscular chest, but she did not expect the scars and burn marks splattered all over his body.

He seemed to notice her staring and sighed, "Raven…"

"Was it Slade?" She curtly asked. There was an extra edge to her tone that surprised Robin.

Robin shook his head. "No. It wasn't Slade."

"Robin," she warned. "Do not lie to me."

"I'm not lying," Robin reassured. "It wasn't Slade. It was… it was a long time ago."

She stared at him for another moment before nodding, accepting his answer. Looking back at his chest, she saw the injured area. Along the right side of his rib cage, there were some severe bruises. She winced at the ugly coloring and slowly reached out, pressing her fingers lightly against the injury. Closing her eyes, she tried to focus on mending the bone and healing the bruising. Robin gasped as he felt a strange mystic power enter his body, but he forced himself to calm down.

The only other time he felt like this was when Raven entered his mind.

Raven frowned, concentrating deeply on fixing the bone before she sighed. Opening her eyes, she looked up at Robin. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I couldn't heal it, but I should have been able to take away some of the pain."

Robin smiled, "Thank you."

Raven nodded and began to pull away her hand when suddenly Robin grasped it. She frowned, looking back at him. He stared at her for a moment, his grip slowly loosening on her hand but never letting go. "Robin…?" she questioned and froze when he began to lean in.

Her eyes widened. Her hands began to tremble, yet the warmth of Robin's hand holding her own gave her a strange sense of comfort. She wanted to move, but her body was not obeying her mind, and she ended up sitting there, frozen and unable to do anything. His lips were just about to press against her own, and he was so close… so close…

She quickly yanked her hand out of his, leaning away to put some distance between them. Robin frowned, staring at her with confusion, but she couldn't bring herself to care. "We should go back inside." She stated.

He frowned, nodding in agreement, "Um… yeah. Yeah, it's getting kind of cold out here."

She nodded, and the two of them stood up. Raven quickly turned and started walking inside while Robin lingered behind. Raven shut her eyes tightly, trying to make her pounding heart calm down.

Damn Rob for putting ideas in her head, and damn Robin for looking like he actually loved her for a moment.

 _And damn me for actually thinking I might have loved him for a moment…_

* * *

 _Thanks for reading! As you can see, Raven is in very deep denial. Why? Well that will be revealed in later chapters! Thanks for reading!_


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